A Pines Family Christmas
by AnimationNut
Summary: A series of short Christmas-themed stories, based off prompts following the order of the alphabet. It's 26 Days of Gravity Falls Christmas! Dipper and Mabel are visiting their great-uncles for winter break, and are excited to spend the holidays with their favourite people in the world. Festive antics ensue, as well as family fluff.
1. Reindeer Run-In

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

 **Since I have absolutely no idea how the series finale is going to play out, this story may or may not fall in line with the final events of the series. But I'm hoping it ends happy happy happy, and that's what I've gone with.**

 **So this is a Christmas-themed alphabet story, with prompts following the order of the alphabet. There will be one upload a day leading up to Christmas.**

 **I'm excited about this, actually, ha ha. 26 Days of Gravity Falls Christmas, here we go!**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Antlers_

* * *

 **Reindeer Run-In**

"You know, I don't get why Grunkle Stan keeps the Mystery Shack open year-round," grumbled Dipper, trudging through the snow with advertising signs loaded in his arms. "It's a seasonal place, for crying out loud."

Mabel glanced over her shoulder, cheeks tinged red with cold and her reindeer antler headband tilting slightly with the motion. "Tourists come throughout the year," she replied. "You know that. Besides, the townspeople always shop there. Of course Grunkle Stan is going to keep it open, especially for Christmas."

Dipper sighed. "I know that. I just wanted to complain."

"Say that then, if you don't want an answer," said Mabel in amusement.

The two thirteen-year-olds were spending winter vacation with their great uncles. They arrived yesterday, and were almost immediately put to work by Stan. As the twins moved through the thick, heavy snow through the forest, pinning signs to trees at certain intervals, Dipper could not help but wonder what would have happened if Ford had forced Stan to transform the gift shop back into a regular room in the house.

But then he quickly felt extremely grateful that the two brothers managed to work out a compromise, because he wasn't sure what Stan would do without his beloved Mystery Shack. He figured it would probably be something much more illegal.

…which was probably a large contributing factor in Ford's eventual agreement to leave the Shack be, with a few stipulations.

"Ooh!"

Mabel's squeal caused him to start in surprise. Squinting ahead, he could see his sister just in front of him, admiring something in the forest. He hurried to catch up to her, skidding slightly in the snow. "Wha-?" he began to say, but stopped when he spotted the source of Mabel's excitement.

A rather large, stocky deer was about a yard away, with tall, strong antlers and a snow-dusted coat. It looked very majestic framed against the snowy landscape.

"It's a reindeer," she breathed, staring at the animal in awe. "Maybe he belongs to Santa. I wonder which one…I'm gonna guess Vixen."

Dipper shook his head in fond exasperation. His sister had an unshakeable belief in Santa Claus, no matter what anyone tried to say otherwise. After their adventures in Gravity Falls, he could no longer dispute her claim that Santa was able to do the impossible things he did because he was magic. He had seen gnomes, unicorns and mythical creatures. He was in no place to say magic didn't exist.

"I say Dasher," he said, playing along. "But I think it's a smart idea if we don't approach it."

"But he's so cute," cooed Mabel, inching closer to the reindeer. "I wonder if he needs help."

"Uh…no. I don't think so."

The animal, after staring at them for a long moment while the twins conversed, suddenly snorted. He stamped at the ground and looked at the duo intently. Dipper clamped a hand on Mabel's shoulder, preventing her from getting any closer.

"Yeah, I definitely don't think it needs any help," he said frantically. "Back away slowly…"

They eased backwards, keeping watchful eyes on the reindeer. But the creature didn't seem willing to let them go, for it gave a challenging snort and lowered its head, hooves stomping into the snow.

"Run!" shrieked Dipper.

Abandoning the rest of their signs, the twins took off, sprinting back towards the Mystery Shack, kicking up clouds of snow as they went.

"It's not flying," panted Mabel, looking over her shoulder at the rapidly-approaching reindeer. "I don't think it's one of Santa's."

"Talk later, run now," wheezed Dipper.

The reindeer was rapidly gaining ground. The Mystery Shack loomed into view and with a burst of energy they made it to the door, stumbling through and slamming it shut behind them.

"Woo! We beat him!" cheered Mabel.

Dipper sunk to the floor, wearily pulling off his jacket and mittens as he did so. He flinched at the heavy thuds that sounded on the wood, the hinges creaking dangerously. "Maybe not."

"What the heck is that noise?"

Stan entered the room and stared at his niece and nephew, who were flushed in the face, and then at his rattling door. "Do I want to know?" he asked warily.

"We met a reindeer, and it followed us home," said Mabel with a smile.

Dipper reached out and plucked Mabel's headband from her head, flicking the felt antlers with a slight frown. "Followed _you_ home, actually."

Stan went over to the window, pulled back the curtain and stared at the bulky animal head-butting his door. He shook his head and let the curtain fall back into place.

"Look, I let you keep the pig, but I draw the line at forest animals."


	2. Coercion By Icing

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Baking_

* * *

 **Coercion By Icing**

Ford wasn't entirely sure how he had gotten roped into baking Christmas cookies. But here he was, standing in the small kitchen with his niece, a glitter-covered apron wrapped around his waist.

"What are we making?" he asked, squinting at the food-stained recipe card in his hand. "Gingerbread?"

Mabel smiled. "No, that's later! Right now we're making sugar cookies."

"Right."

Really, how hard could baking be? All the ingredients were listed neatly and with measurements, and the directions were clearly laid out. It was almost like a science experiment, and science was his expertise.

Quickly into the baking process he realized that his science skills didn't necessarily apply to this delicate art Mabel was so good at.

He first confused sugar with flour, and then accidently spilled the baking powder to the floor. He got shells into the mixture when he cracked the egg and was forced to dig them out. But Mabel wasn't bothered by his continuous mistakes, cheerfully correcting him when she needed to and asking him to stir the ingredients together.

"Christmas tree or snowman?" she asked after the dough was ready, holding out the metal cookie cutters.

"Christmas tree," he decided, wiping his hands on his apron and growing mildly amused when glitter smeared across his callous palms.

Together they cut shapes into the dough and arranged them onto the cookie sheet. Ford slipped them into the already-heated oven and set the timer. "There."

"When they're done and cooled, we can do the super fun part," said Mabel happily, pointing towards the almost-endless row of Christmas-themed sprinkles and tubes of red, green and vanilla icing she had arranged onto the counter.

"I think I'll let you take care of that," replied Ford. He started to take off his apron, but a small hand clamped around his wrist, making him pause.

"We're not done yet!" she insisted. "You have to decorate with me!"

Ford sighed as she cast her puppy-dog stare on him. "You're the one who's talented at this stuff, Mabel," he reasoned. "I'll only mess them up."

"That's okay," she insisted. "They don't have to be perfect. So long as you're having fun doing it." She faltered. "Are you having fun?"

"Of course I am," he assured, setting a hand on the girl's shoulder. He hadn't done Christmas in a _long_ time, and it filled him with a warm, almost overwhelming feeling to be able to spend his first Christmas in over forty years with his family. He'd almost forgotten the small joys of the holiday season, and Mabel's enthusiasm for the holiday was infectious. "But I really think it would be best if you decorated these cookies. They'll turn out much better than if I did them."

The thirteen-year-old girl released his hand and pointed a stern finger at him. "You made a commitment!"

Ford managed to resist the urge to laugh. He crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at the girl. "Funny thing about that. I don't recall ever actually _saying_ I would help you bake cookies."

An innocent expression crossed her face. "Of course you did. You wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"Uh-huh," he said in amusement. "That aside, I believe my baking assistance is no longer needed."

Eyes narrowing, Mabel marched over and grabbed one of the tubes of icing. "You will decorate with me," she said firmly, aiming the tube at her great-uncle.

"Mabel-"

"Say it!"

"I've played this game before," said Ford casually, reaching over and grabbing the bag of flour. "Try me."

In the span of five minutes, the relatively neat kitchen dissolved into a mess, with flour coating the floor and counters and icing splattered across the walls. Mabel, her brunette hair now completely white, lay sprawled across the chest of Ford, who was covered in red and green icing.

"I win!" she declared, letting out a short cough as flour caught in her throat. "You have to decorate with me." She paused and glanced around the kitchen. "And you have to clean with me."

Chuckling, Ford reached up and tussled her hair affectionately. "Guess I lost this one. You really did pick up some tricks from Stanley, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright." Ford stood up with a grunt, bringing Mabel with him and balancing her on his hip. "Let's clean ourselves up and then work on this disaster zone."

"Okay. Grunkle Ford?"

"Yeah?"

Mabel looped her arms around his neck and nestled her head onto his shoulder. "Thanks for helping me with the Christmas cookies."

"My pleasure, kid," said Ford with a soft smile. "My pleasure."


	3. Radio Mabel

**I do not own Gravity Falls or the song** _ **Jingle Bells**_ **.**

 **Dipper and Mabel get a very long winter break, by the way. It's the kind of winter break I wish I had in elementary school.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Carols_

* * *

 **Radio Mabel**

" _Jingle bells, Jingle bells, jingle all the waaaay!"_

The music from Mabel's CD player blared throughout the house, the upbeat holiday song playing for what Stan believed to be the millionth time.

" _Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, hey!"_

Groaning, Stan pressed the couch cushions against his ears, trying to block out the caterwauling of his niece. He loved the girl to death, and she was an extremely creative, talented child, but singing did not fit in her repertoire.

 _Jingle Bells_ happened to be Mabel's favourite Christmas carol, and according to Dipper she would play it on repeat about three days a week for the month of December. The kids had arrived on the fourteenth of December, and it was now the sixteenth.

Almost two days of the same Christmas song. The same dang song about bells and horses dashing through snow and more bells.

The television was playing some old Christmas movie he recalled seeing in the early days of his own childhood. But with the couch cushions blocking his hearing, he was pretty much watching a silent film. Heaving a sigh, he glanced over at his nephew.

Dipper was curled up in the loveseat, the newest piece of furniture added to the room since Ford returned and allowed his brother to live with him. A thick book was propped up against his knees and his eyes darted back and forth as he devoured the words. He seemed to be immune to the racket, but the slight quirk of his lips told him that the boy was amused.

"Think this is funny, do you?" growled Stan, reluctantly lowering the cushions and flinching slightly as _"A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a riiiiide,"_ burst into his eardrums.

Dipper let his smile bloom into a grin. "Kind of, yeah."

"It's the same two minute song over and over," complained Stan, massaging his temples. "How the heck do you handle it?"

"Years of exposure has built up an immunity," replied Dipper.

"Go tell her to turn it off."

"No way! If you don't like it, do it yourself. Or join Ford in the basement."

"This is my house-"

"Technically, it's your brother's house."

"-shut up." Stan threw a cushion at him. " _Anyway,_ it's _partly_ my house and I will not be forced into hiding."

"Good luck," drawled Dipper, going back to his book.

Stan stood up and strode for the attic, where the twins resided whenever they came over to visit. The door was wide open so he walked straight into the room, where he found Mabel dancing wildly across the floor with Waddles, singing her heart out.

Shaking his head, he went over to the CD player, which rested on her bedside table. He reached out for the 'stop' button, but before he could hit it he was startled by a sudden, _"Nooooo!"_

Mabel, having seen what her great-uncle planned to do, rushed over and threw herself on top of the CD player, muffling the sound in the process. "No," she repeated.

"Sweetie, there are a million other Christmas songs to play besides this one," said Stan in exasperation. "Why does it have to be _Jingle Bells_ all the time?"

"It's my favourite."

"I know, but a guy can only take so much of the same two-minute song." Stan stared at Mabel with a pleading expression. "You've got twenty other Christmas songs on this disc. There's gotta be other ones that you like."

Mabel eyed him for a moment before giving a nod. "Alright, I'll start using some variety," she agreed. "But can I play _Jingle Bells_ for the rest of the day?"

"Why not?" conceded Stan, reaching out to pinch Mabel's nose playfully. "But only for today. After that, I don't want to hear that song for the rest of the year."

Giggling, she dropped to the floor, the song once more blaring clearly. "Love you!" she called as the opening verse began for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, yeah."

Stan headed back downstairs, shot Dipper a 'don't-say-anything' glare, and went to join his brother in the basement lab, the only place in the house that was out of reach of Mabel's gleeful carolling.

" _Dashing through the snow,"_ he sang softly as he stepped into the office, where his brother was working on some sort of gizmo.

" _In a one horse open sleigh,"_ continued Ford automatically.

The two paused, realizing what they had just done, and burst into laughter.


	4. Tinsel War

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Decorations_

* * *

 **Tinsel War**

" _I'm gonna get you!"_

" _Only if you can catch me first!"_

Dipper and Mabel tore around the living room, clumps of silver tinsel in their hands. They attempted to hit each other with the clingy Christmas decoration, but it was rather difficult to do. The floor was covered in the slim strands and the two were slipping and sliding about in socked feet.

"Oof!" grunted Dipper as he slid into the arm of the loveseat.

Mabel let out a cry of victory and rubbed her tinsel sharply into her brother's hair, knocking off his Santa hat in the process. "Haha!" she crooned. "Take that!"

"Mabel!" he yelped, struggling to get away from her. "This stuff is never gonna come out!"

"You're gonna be Tinsel Head!"

Narrowing his eyes, Dipper challenged, "Oh yeah?"

He slammed his tinsel into his sister's face, causing her to splutter in surprise and back away. "Ugh!" she gagged. "Tinsel is really pretty, but it tastes horrible!"

Dipper got to his feet and the chase resumed. Ford entered the living room, carrying another box of decorations for the Christmas tree, which stood proudly in the corner. He set it with the other decorations and stared at his niece and nephew in exasperation.

"Guys, you're supposed to use that to decorate the tree, not each other."

"We can do both," replied Dipper.

Ford set his hands on his hips. "You keep this up and we're not going to have anything for the tree."

"Then we'll just have to get more, Poindexter."

Stan, who had crept behind Ford with his noticing, upended a box of green tinsel over his head. Ford stood still for a moment, staring at the glittering strands that clung to his red sweater. He slowly turned his head and glared at his snickering twin.

"You are so immature."

"What are you going to do about-? _Hey!_ "

Ford grabbed some garland out of one of the open boxes and wrapped it around Stan, trapping his arms against his sides. "This is what I'm going to do about it."

Stan wriggled against the prickly holiday bindings, a scowl on his face. "No fair! This isn't tinsel!"

"I'm glad you can tell your holiday decorations apart," deadpanned Ford.

"Mabel!" he called. "Help me out of here and we'll gang up to annihilate the nerds!"

"Yeah!" cheered Mabel, and soon it was an all-out battle of two against two.

Ten minutes later, the four Pines members sprawled out on the floor, panting heavily and staring at the tinsel that covered every available surface, including themselves.

"Great job, squirts," said Stan, lightly rapping Mabel and Dipper on their heads. "Thanks to you, we have to clean all this up."

"Don't blame them," chided Ford. "You're just as much at fault."

Dipper rubbed a strand of tinsel from his cheek. "Think we can salvage this?"

"You better. I'm not paying for any more of this stuff."

Ford rolled his eyes and elbowed his brother. "Stanley, you clearly said that if we ran out of tinsel, we would get more."

"Lies."

Mabel crawled onto Stan's chest and moved her face closer, so they were nose-to-nose. "Tree now?" she asked hopefully.

"We'll behave," added Dipper, resting his head against Ford's knee. "We got it all out of our system."

"Alright." Stan sat up with a grunt and Mabel fell into his lap. "Grab a broom. You two started it so you can clean it up."

The twins rushed off to get the broom and dustpan. Ford looked around and sighed. "We're going to be finding this stuff all the way into next year."

"I should have known better than to buy this junk," grumbled Stan. "Terrible idea. It's annoying crap… By the way, we're so going to have Tinsel War Two next year."


	5. Mystery Shack Holiday Helpers

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Elves_

* * *

 **Mystery Shack Holiday Helpers**

"I'm not coming out."

"Come on, Dipper," coaxed Mabel, hovering outside the supply closet in which her brother refused to exit. "I'm sure it's not so bad."

"There's not a mirror in here, and for that I'm glad. I don't want to see what I look like."

"Well, you can't be embarrassed if you don't know how you look," reasoned Mabel.

"I know I look ridiculous. I just don't have anything by which to confirm that. I'm definitely not going out there and let everyone in this town see me like this."

Mabel let out a soft sigh and glanced over her shoulder. The Shack was relatively busy this December afternoon, people milling about in their winter gear and shopping for cheesy, touristy knick-knacks for Christmas gifts. Wendy lounged at the register, a Santa hat resting crookedly on her head and her eyes glued to one of her teen magazines. Soos was outside, shovelling a path through the snow so that it wasn't too much of a hassle for the customers to get to the Shack.

"I mean, it's not extremely busy," she said. "It's not like anyone back home in Piedmont is going to see this. We're back in Gravity Falls. We can be as weird and goofy as we want here. Besides, it's Christmas. We're festive!"

She was answered by silence, but she could feel her brother's increasing surrender.

"If you don't come out soon, Grunkle Stan is going to drag you out himself," she warned, knowing this would seal it. "That would be much more embarrassing."

A groan of defeat sounded from the other side of the door. It creaked open and Dipper reluctantly stepped out. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and muttered, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

The two were wearing matching elf costumes. The only difference was that Mabel wore a red skirt with bells attached and her brother wore a pair of green tights. Thankfully his green and red long-sleeved shirt stretched down far enough for him to feel slightly comfortable about the tights. They both wore a pair of pointed shoes and elf hats, and were covered in so many bells that they created a melody with each step they took.

"I'll be Snowflake and you can be Snowfrost," said Mabel cheerfully, linking hands with him and dragging him further into the shop.

Dipper felt his ears go red. "I hope Ford doesn't come in here at all today. That would be humiliating."

The sound of a camera going off caused Dipper to whip his head around. Wendy studied the picture she had just taken and frowned. "Dang. Caught the glare. Let's try again."

Before Dipper could protest, Mabel slung an arm around his shoulders and grinned widely. "Christmas!"

Wendy took another picture with her cellphone and studied the result. "Perfect! You two are adorable. This is so going to be my profile picture."

Dipper felt a flare of mortification. But then he looked at his sister, with her bright smile and arms looped tightly around him. He glanced around the Shack, decked out with Christmas lights and shiny red garland. He felt a sudden warmth course through him and he relaxed.

"Snowflake and Snowfrost, huh?"

"Yeah! Hey, I bet we could come up with a dance!" Mabel beamed at him.

Dipper smirked. "Let's see how long we can get away with _Jingle Bells_ before Stan bursts in and strangles us."

It was Christmas. And Christmas was a time for dressing up as elves and having fun with friends and family while driving your relatives crazy with a Christmas song they were sick of.

…or something along those lines, anyway.


	6. Warmth in the Cold

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Family_

* * *

 **Warmth in the Cold**

The wind howled outside, causing the old, wooden shack to creak and moan. Up in the attic Dipper and Mabel were bundled up with blankets, attempting to sleep through the raging blizzard. But the heat coming from the furnace did not reach the attic, and even with the twins huddled together in one bed to try and share body heat, they were trembling with shivers.

"D-d-do we have a-any m-m-more blankets?" asked Mabel through chattering teeth.

Dipper cast a glance at Mabel's bed across the room, which was stripped bare, as all pillows and blankets had been moved to his bed. "No."

They were currently weighed down with about five pounds of sheets and blankets, but Dipper's toes were still frozen. He shivered and rolled over, fingers curling into the fabric of his dark red wool blanket. Mabel curled up against up, sticking her cold hands underneath her armpits.

"W-w-we're going t-t-to freeze to d-d-death," she said solemnly.

Waddles, who was snuggled comfortably at the end of the bed, oinked softly and nuzzled Mabel's feet. She giggled and tapped him lightly with her toe. "That tickles!"

Dipper stared at the ceiling, listening as the window rattled in its frame. "I think i-i-it's time to g-g-go to Plan B."

"Grunkles?" asked Mabel hopefully.

"Grunkles."

The twins wrestled their way out of the bed, dragging a few blankets with them. Mabel snagged her pet pig with one arm and the two hurried downstairs, where they were immediately bathed in warmth from the softly-humming heater.

When they reached the end of the hall they split off, Dipper heading into one room and Mabel going into another. She crept across the wooden floor and hovered at the edge of Stan's bed, watching the lump under the blankets breathe evenly.

She put Waddles on the end of the bed and it sagged slightly with the additional weight. Waddles circled a few times before settling down contently over Stan's feet.

"Ugh," grunted Stan, disturbed from sleep by the pig. "Wassamatter?"

"We're cold," said Mabel softly, crawling beside her great-uncle. "Can we sleep with you?"

Stan groaned softly and rolled over, staring at her through narrowed, bleary eyes. "There's a couch, runt."

"But I don't want to sleep on the couch." She burrowed her way under the blankets, body relaxing at the cozy warmth of the sheets and covers.

"What, you left your brother to freeze?"

"No, silly. He's going to sleep with Ford. I'm gonna have a sleepover with you. Please?"

"Fine," grumbled Stan. "But if you snore you're out of here."

She laughed softly and cuddled against him, almost immediately falling asleep. A smile curled across Stan's face and he wrapped his arms around her small form.

"Goodnight, squirt."

Across the hall, Dipper was lingering in the doorway of Ford's bedroom. He studied the man's sleeping form and hesitantly entered the abode. Not wanting to wake him, he carefully climbed onto the bed, laying down at the very edge. He tried to keep as still as possible and closed his eyes.

"…you can't be comfortable."

Dipper nearly fell out of the bed in surprise. He turned over and found himself face-to-face with Ford, who was regarding him in sleepy amusement. Dipper turned red. "Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't want to wake you. It's really cold in the attic and we thought we'd come down. Mabel's with Stan and I thought…"

"Alright, but don't hog the blankets. And get away from the edge before you fall out and crack your head open."

Beaming, Dipper moved closer to the middle and snuggled under the blankets. He was on the brink of slumber as he felt a hand move gently through his brown locks, and then he was out, no longer feeling cold.


	7. The Perfect Present

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Gift_

* * *

 **The Perfect Present**

Tugging her bright pink knit hat further down over her forehead, Mabel squinted through the dense snowfall. She was barely able to see what was in front of her and this resulted in many stumbles. "Dipper!" she complained, picking her way through the mounting snow. "Where is this rock that you want so much?"

"It's just on the other side of the cliffs," called Dipper, his nose buried in the second journal. "And it's not for me. It's for Grunkle Ford. It's not just a rock, either. It's a special stone that glows different colours depending on the astrological alignment."

"Are you sure he doesn't already have that?" Mabel asked, brow furrowed as she thought. "He's got something that glows, at least."

"I'm positive. He told me that this stone was one of his first discoveries. But he didn't find it where they're originally found. It was in the forest. He lost it while he was stuck in other dimensions."

Mabel arched an eyebrow. "If Grunkle Ford happened to find one in the forest, how do you know where the rest are?"

"I asked the gnomes. Then I got validation from Multibear."

"You probably should have just bypassed the gnomes and went straight for Multibear."

"Probably," agreed Dipper.

After walking for a few more minutes they suddenly came upon the edge of the cliffs. Dipper held out an arm to keep his sister back and stared across the deep trench, staring at the cave openings on the other side.

"So…which one?" asked Mabel.

"I don't know," admitted Dipper. "They didn't know that much information. We're going to have to check them all."

"Great. Did you bring your mountain climbing gear?" she joked.

"Nope. Did you bring your grappling hook?"

"Always."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out one of her most treasured possessions. She aimed it at the top of the first cave opening on the other side and pressed the trigger. The metal hook shot out and imbedded into the rock. Dipper held onto her tightly as they inched closely to the edge of the cliff.

"Here we go!" whooped Mabel, pressing the trigger again.

The rope pulled taunt and they were lugged over the wide gape, straight for the cave opening. They landed ungracefully across the cave floor, skidding across the bumpy dirt.

"Oh," groaned Dipper, rubbing his backside gingerly. "We need to work on our landings."

"I'm sure we'll have plenty of practice today." Mabel glanced around at the barren cave. "This place is empty."

"Let's just look to be sure."

They spent two and a half hours in the blistering cold, going from cave to cave in search of the precious stones. They hit pay dirt in the second-to-last cave.

Mabel held her grappling hook close to her chest, eyes wide as she looked around. "Whoa…" she breathed. "It's absolutely gorgeous."

Dipper glanced up and brightened at the sight of hundreds and hundreds of glowing blue rocks lodged into the wall of the cave. "Great! We've found the perfect present for Ford!"

With his sister's help, they managed to get one of the rocks out. Sticking it into the pocket of his jacket, the two walked back to the mouth of the cave, where they discovered the snow had picked up. "Guess we better get back soon," muttered Dipper. "We didn't exactly tell Stan and Ford where we were going."

Mabel fired her grappling hook and Dipper wrapped his arms around his sister's waist. With one jump they were sailing through the gap and towards the lip of the cliff.

 _Krrrk!_

"Whooooooooa!" screamed Mabel as the hook dislodged, causing them to rapidly plummet.

" _Mabel!"_ hollered Dipper, refusing to look down.

With a mighty thrust, Mabel whipped the grappling gun upwards, hoping that the hook would snag on something. To their great relief it did, catching on an outcropping of rocks, and the rope pulled them upwards. They found themselves dangling about a meter away from the edge of the cliff.

Panting heavily, Mabel asked, "Now what?"

"Um…" Dipper stared at the rock the hook was hanging from. "Can you hold onto that and fire the grappling hook again?"

Mabel strained to reach, but there was about fifty centimetres of rope left that refused to be retracted. "I can't reach it."

"I guess I'll have to climb up and figure something out," decided Dipper. "Hold-"

" _Kids!"_

His eyes went wide. "Did you hear what I think I heard?"

"I hope so," said Mabel feelingly.

" _Kids!"_

Stan's voice roared above the snowstorm, and Ford's followed soon after.

" _Dipper! Mabel!"_

"Down here!" shouted Mabel.

Two figures, obscured by the raging snow, appeared above them. "Stanley, help me out," instructed Ford.

Stan held his brother by the legs and eased him downwards. Ford grabbed hold of the metal hook and called, "I got them!"

With one strong heave Stan pulled his family to safety. Dipper crawled through the snow, suddenly feeling weak with relief. "Thanks-" he started to say, but shrunk back at the two sharp glares directed their way.

"What the heck are you doing way out here?" snapped Stan, shoving his hands into his coat pockets for warmth.

"Just out for a walk," said Mabel, not wanting to spoil the Christmas surprise.

Stan arched an eyebrow and bent down so that he was at her level. "I'm a professional liar. You really think you can sneak a lie past me?"

Mabel bit down on her lip. Dipper kept his eyes firmly on the ground and didn't offer a word.

"Right then," said Ford coldly. "I suppose we'll hash this out back home. Come on."

They made the trek back to the Mystery Shack in silence. Dipper resisted the urge to feel into the pocket of his coat, knowing that the sharp eyes of Ford would spot the movement.

They crossed through the gift shop and into the house, kicking off their boots and hanging up their jackets. Dipper and Mabel shuffled into the kitchen and sat the table, waiting nervously as Stan put on the kettle before sitting across from them with Ford.

"What," began Stan sternly, "is possibly so dang important that you ventured out in this craziness for over two hours without telling us where you were going?"

"We just had to check on something," said Dipper weakly.

"Something that had to do with my journals?" asked Ford.

"Yes…"

Ford reached into his pocket and removed the third journal, which he slid across the table towards the boy. "I believe we agreed that this one belonged to you. But I happen to be missing my second journal, and I discovered this in the living room."

Mabel flinched slightly and Dipper quelled a groan. "I have it," he said softly. "I needed to borrow it."

"For?" pressed Stan.

"Nothing bad," piped up Mabel.

"Maybe not bad, but definitely dangerous," returned Stan. "I refuse to think what would have happened if we didn't find you when we did."

"We've done dangerous things all summer," protested Dipper. "We can take care of ourselves."

"Perhaps you can, but you are thirteen, and our responsibility," said Stan sharply. "Besides, last summer there was zero chance you would freeze to death."

The two ducked their heads and Ford regarded them carefully. "You swear you didn't leave looking for trouble?"

"No," they chorused quickly.

"Swear," added Mabel, crossing her fingers over her heart. "We just had to go check something out. We won't do it again."

Stan eyed his brother, and when Ford gave a nod he sighed. "Fine," he grumbled, setting his hands on his hips. "Get upstairs. You're staying there for the rest of the day. I'll bring some tea up when the kettle's done."

The twins quickly hurried out of the room. Dipper slipped to his jacket hanging on the hook to collect the precious rock and slipped it in his jean pocket before rushing after his sister. They went to their room and collapsed on their beds.

"So, do you think they'll still be mad when they find out why we went all the way out there?" asked Mabel.

Dipper smiled. "Maybe. But it'll be worth it. We got Grunkle Ford the perfect gift."

They couldn't until Christmas Day to see his face.


	8. Mabel's Holiday Sweater Collection

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Holiday_

* * *

 **Mabel's Holiday Sweater Collection**

Sitting in the middle of her attic abode, Mabel kept her eyes focussed on the sewing machine, which was whirring softly. She gently guided the knitted material through the pumping needle and smiled happily when she reached her finished product.

"Six sweaters ready for distribution!"

She set the newly-made sweater onto the pile already formed on the end of her bed. She pulled out the smallest sweater and went over to Waddles, who was playing with a ball, rolling it repeatedly across the floor. She wiggled it over his head and clapped her hands together.

"You're so cute!" she cooed.

Waddles oinked in response, lightly scratching at his new, bright red sweater that bore his face with a Santa hat.

"I'm off to spread holiday cheer," she said, gathering up the rest of the sweaters. "You keep doing you!"

She skipped out of the room and downstairs. She found Ford sitting on the loveseat, watching a science documentary on television. She snuck up behind him and shouted, _"Christmas sweater time!"_

Ford jumped with a yelp of surprise. He turned his head and stared at the giggling girl with a look of reproach. "Don't do that!"

"Sorry. Here!"

He took the green knitted sweater she handed him. Embroidered on the front was a scroll, and in golden thread were the words _'I made the Nice List!'_

"Thanks," he said in bemusement. "Uh…do I have to put it on now?"

"No, not now…but maybe later?" she asked hopefully.

Ford could not help but give an affectionate smile. "Later," he agreed. _Preferably not in public…_

Beaming, Mabel skipped her way to the gift shop, which was in a state of lull. She made a beeline for her brother, who was sweeping the floor. "Bro, I finished your sweater!" she said, thrusting it out.

Dipper paused his work to accept the lovingly crafted piece of clothing. There was a picture of a puppy with a jingle bell collar, and in white thread were the words _'Santa's Little Yelper'._

"We match," added Mabel, holding her arms out to the sides to give him the full view of her sweater, which had a picture of a cat with a jingle bell collar and it read _'Have a Meow-y Christmas!'_

He laughed. "Nice! You should sell these. You'd probably make a fortune." He promptly shrugged on the sweater and straightened it out. His sister had been making Christmas sweaters for him for years, and he wore them dutifully.

"Maybe in a few years," said Mabel thoughtfully. "Right now, I'd rather leave it a family tradition."

She went over to Wendy and handed her a white sweater with a lumberjack snowman on it. The redhead grinned widely and immediately wrestled it on. "Awesome!" she said brightly, admiring the design. "I get a Mabel Original!"

"Ooh, ooh, do I get a Mabel Original?" asked Soos eagerly, sticking his head out of the supply closet, cloth and spray bottle in hand.

"You sure do!" Mabel extended the second-to-last sweater, which was dark blue and had a Soos-look-alike gingerbread cookie on the front.

"My life is complete," said Soos in contentment, slipping it on.

Stan walked into the shop then, carrying a box marked 'Snowglobes'. He immediately spotted his workers wearing colourful festive sweaters and he lifted up his eyepatch so he could see them better. "Did I miss something?"

"Nope, you're just in time." Mabel hurried to stand in front of him and extended her last sweater, which was red with a scroll and had the words _'I made the Naughty List!'_ knitted in gold.

Aware that there was no way out of this, and admittedly feeling extremely touched, Stan set the box down, took the sweater and tugged it over his tux. "Thanks, kid," he said, giving her a brief noogie.

"We should totally take a picture," voiced Wendy, pulling out her cell. "Yo, take our picture," she ordered, handing her phone to the startled customer. "Gather 'round, homies!"

"Hey, did Poindexter get one of these?" asked Stan suddenly.

"Of course!"

" _Stanford, get in here!"_

It took a minute, but Ford soon appeared in the shop, and Mabel was delighted to see that he was wearing her sweater. "What?" he asked.

Stan stared at his sweater, and a slow, smug smile curled across Ford's face after he noticed what his brother was wearing.

Scowling slightly, Stan turned around, pointed at Mabel and demanded,

"How come _he_ gets to be on the Nice List?"


	9. Pines vs Pines

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Ice_

* * *

 **Pines vs. Pines**

Decked out in makeshift goalie gear (a bicycle helmet, a couch cushion tied around his waist, oven mitts and a welding mask) Dipper hovered in the goal, eyes locked on the puck that was constantly being exchanged between Mabel and Ford, who were fighting to get control.

"Come on, sweetie!" shouted Stan, who guarded the other goal. "Take him out!"

Mabel managed to snag the puck with her hockey stick and skated quickly towards her brother. Dipper got into a defensive position, but before he could worry about blocking the shot Ford intercepted it and skated for the other side of the homemade rink.

"Aw, man!" cried Mabel.

Eyes narrowed in concentration, Ford raised his hockey stick and slapped the puck. It sailed across the smooth surface and straight towards the net. Stan stuck out his left foot and blocked it with his skate, sending it swirling to the side.

"Ha!" he jeered at Ford's frustrated expression.

"You've got to be kidding me," the trench coat-wearing man groaned. "We've been at this for ten minutes and one of us just needs one more goal to win!"

"And I'm going to make that goal!" declared Mabel, zipping over and snagging the puck. She hurried to the other side of the rink and made the shot, which Dipper managed to snag out of the air. "Dang it!"

"Nice save, Dipper!" praised Ford. "Send it over here!"

Nodding, he hit the puck through Mabel's legs and to Ford. He zigzagged his way towards Stan, glancing briefly over his shoulder to stare at the house. "Hey, Stanley."

"What?" snapped Stan, focussing on the rapidly approaching puck.

"Someone's trying to break into the gift shop."

" _What?!"_

He whirled around, expecting to see some hoodlum try to wrench open one of the frosted-over windows. All he saw was a pure white landscape, and all he heard was the sound of a puck sailing past him into the net.

"Gooooaaaallll!" cheered Dipper, ripping off his goalie gear to celebrate with Ford. "We rule!"

"No fair!" yelped Mabel. "That's cheating."

Ford grinned as he hoisted Dipper into the air. "I don't recall ever making any rules when we started this game. Besides, it's Stan's fault for all the times he pulled a similar trick on me when we were kids. Consider it payback."

Stan threw his hockey stick to the ice and crossed his arms. "I can't believe I fell for that."

Mabel skated over and patted his arm in comfort. "It's okay, Grunkle Stan. We'll get them next time."

" _Pines! Pines! Pines! Pines!"_

Stan groaned. "They're never gonna let this one go."


	10. A Mythical Encounter

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Jack Frost_

* * *

 **A Mythical Encounter**

Purple winter boots sinking into the snow, Mabel was searching intently for pinecones. It was her holiday tradition to paint and decorate them so they could hang on the tree. It was difficult to find pinecones in Piedmont, and she often had to resort to shopping at craft stores if she didn't find enough of them.

But here she was in Gravity Falls, her favourite place in the world, and there were pinecones aplenty.

Humming cheerfully, Mabel fished another prickly pinecone from the depths of the snow and slipped it into her almost full basket. She tilted her head back, smiling up at the light grey sky, and feeling the cool tickle of snowflakes on her flushed cheeks.

"I love snow," she said in contentment, sticking out her tongue in an attempt to catch a graceful snowflake.

"Hey, that makes two of us!"

With a yelp of surprise, Mabel stumbled backwards and tripped, the side of her head smacking into the bark of a tree. Dazed, she slumped to the ground and pressed two fingers against her throbbing temple. "Ouch," she whimpered.

"Whoops. Sorry about that."

 _Phwomp!_

A tall, thin, male figure dropped from the treetops and landed neatly in front of the girl. His skin was as white as the snow itself, and so was his hair, which was spiked up. Silver eyes glinted down at her, mixed with amusement and sheepishness. He wore a long, light blue jacket that seemed to be covered in a thin layer of frost. It remained unbuttoned, the golden pieces glinting in the light. Baggy black shorts crept just past his knees, and he was barefoot.

"Hi," squeaked Mabel, eyes wide.

"Hi yourself." He extended a hand. "Shouldn't have startled you like that. My bad."

Mabel accepted the hand, and even through the material of her mittens she could feel the icy cold seeping from his skin. She got to her feet and looked up at him in awe. "Who _are_ you? Aren't you cold?"

"Nope. Don't even feel it. I'm Jack Frost. It's a pleasure to meet you…?"

"Mabel," she introduced, and a wide grin curled across her face. "Are you really Jack Frost?"

"The one and only," he replied cheerfully, slinging his hands into his pockets. "Again, sorry about scaring you like that. But I spotted you picking up pinecones and I was intrigued. Then you said you love snow and I just had to pipe up."

"Oh, yeah. They're going to be ornaments for the tree," explained Mabel, gesturing towards her basket, which hadn't lost a single pinecone when she stumbled. "It's one of my Christmas traditions."

"Cool." He glanced upwards a spotted a rather perfect pinecone hanging from a branch high above them. "Hey, I found another one for you!"

He flew into the air and Mabel could not stop the delighted shriek from leaving her. Silver and blue sparkles followed the mythical being as he soared straight to the pinecone and snapped it neatly from its place.

"Here you go," he said, landing back done in front of her. "I think that's a beauty."

"Thanks!" exclaimed Mabel, sticking the pinecone on the top of her pile. "Do you live here?"

"Nah, just here for a visit. I don't live anywhere, really. Just come and go as I please. I can't stay still for very long." He stretched his arms over his head, expression suddenly thoughtful. "But you know, there's something about this place that keeps me coming back more than any other place in the world."

"It's an awesome place," said Mabel fondly.

"Do you live here? I don't think I've ever seen you around before."

"Oh, no, I'm here for winter break with my brother. We're visiting our great-uncles. We live in Piedmont, California."

Jack wrinkled his nose. "The Sunny State. Nice place to visit, but only for very brief periods of time." He then came to a realization and grinned widely. "This is your first winter, then, isn't it?"

Mabel nodded. "Uh-huh. I mean, we've had a few soft snowfalls once and a while, but Christmas is always pretty much a sunny affair." She crossed her arms and eyed him curiously. "How come you can't make it snow in California more often?"

Jack laughed. "Sorry kid, but even mythical figures like me have rules to follow."

"Someone makes rules for you?" asked Mabel incredulously.

He winked. "Yup, but I can say no more than that. In fact, I'm not really supposed to speak with mortals, but I make an exception once in a while. There's something about you I like."

"Thanks. I like you too."

A loud, musical _ding_ sounded out and Jack pulled back the sleeve of his coat, revealing a clunky, silver watch decorated in snowflakes. He studied it for a moment before pulling his sleeve down. "That's my cue to create more frozen fun somewhere else," said Jack, a bit regretfully. "Sorry, Mabel. I'm afraid I have to breeze off."

"Aw, too bad." Mabel's face fell slightly. "Will I see you again?"

"Maybe you will. I tend to appear in random places during the winter season, and when I'm on vacation during the rest of the year, I might take a trip to Piedmont." He shot her a smile. "But before I go, I think I should give you something to celebrate your first proper winter."

He pressed his hands together, and then slowly separated them. Bright blue light swirled between his palms and a medium-sized crystal snowflake materialized, its surface glossy and smooth and sparkling. Mabel accepted it with a joyful grin, gently running her fingers along the edges.

"Thank you!"

"No problem."

"Here, you can have a pinecone." She dug one out and held it out to the being of winter, who accepted it.

Jack took a small bow. "Until another winter, Mabel."

He flew into the air, but before he could disappear the girl called, "Wait! Does Santa Claus ever take a vacation to California?"

Jack Frost paused and glanced down, a smile on his lips. "Well now, perhaps you'll find out one day."

And with a burst of blue and white sparkles, he was gone.

Mabel stared up at the sky for a moment before giggling, carefully putting the eternal snowflake into her pants pocket. "Wait until Dipper hears about this!"

She spent a little while longer picking more pinecones before making her way back to the Mystery Shack. She rushed straight into the living room, where Stan and Ford were fighting over the remote. "Guess what? I saw Jack Frost?"

The two immediately stopped their bickering to stare at their niece in astonishment. Stan took notice of the large, dark bruise on the side of her head. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

Mabel touched the sore spot, suddenly aware of the dull ache in her head as the excitement over her encounter dwindled slightly. "I fell."

"Come here," instructed Ford. She obeyed and went to stand in front of him. He cupped her chin and studied the injury intently. "Follow my finger."

Mabel kept her eyes trained on the moving finger.

"Does it hurt?" asked Ford after he was satisfied that there nothing wrong with her reaction timing.

"I have a bit of a headache," she admitted.

"Alright, squirt, go lie down and put a cloth on your head. I'll check on you in a bit," spoke Stan.

"But don't you want to hear about Jack Frost?"

Ford and Stan exchanged concerned glances. "Mabel, I think when you hit your head, you saw a figment of your imagination-a hallucination, if you will," said Ford carefully. "Why don't you go rest up?"

Huffing, Mabel reluctantly went down the hall. She retrieved a cloth from the bathroom and soaked it. She pressed it against her bruise and went up into the attic, where her brother was bundled up in bed, recovering from a bout of sore throat.

"How'd it go?" rasped Dipper.

"I found lots of pinecones." She set her basket on her bedside table. "Ford and Stan didn't believe me, but I also met Jack Frost."

His eyebrows flew up. "Seriously?"

Suddenly remembering the gift Jack had given her, she dug it out and extended towards her brother, eyes dancing. "Wait until Stan and Ford see this."

Dipper gaped at the glittering crystal snowflake before pouting and slumping against his pillow. "Typical," he grumbled. "The cool stuff happens when I'm sick."


	11. Believing Is Seeing

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Kris Kringle_

* * *

 **Believing Is Seeing**

Seated in the armchair, Mabel perused her letter, tapping her glitter pen against her chin as she thought. She added one more line before doing her signature. "There!"

"Did you put down all the presents you wanted?" asked Dipper, leaning over the back of the chair to peer at what his sister had written.

"The ones I want from Santa," she confirmed, glancing over her shoulder towards the door leading to the gift shop. "Is Grunkle Ford still in the lab?"

"That's where I left him," replied Dipper. "I have some laundry to do, so I figure I better get on that before I run out of clothes to wear." He tilted his head to the side and examined his sister, who looked relieved that Ford was currently holed up with work. "Why are you worried about where Ford is?"

"I don't really want him to know that I believe in Santa Claus," she admitted reluctantly, tracing the edge of her letter. "He's going to think I'm stupid."

Dipper rested a hand on her shoulder. "He is not," he said firmly. "How can he? He lives in Gravity Falls, and spent most of his life floating through dimensions. How can he say that Santa isn't real, after all the impossible stuff he's seen?"

"But that's science and paranormal and anomalies," countered Mabel. "Sure, there's gnomes and unicorns, but for the most part Grunkle Ford doesn't hold much stock in magic." She held the letter against her chest and sighed softly. "I just don't want him to think less of me."

"You don't have to worry about that," said Dipper certainly. He squeezed her shoulder before retracting his hand. "If you need stamps, there's some in the kitchen, I think. Grunkle Stan keeps them in one of the supply drawers."

Mabel brightened. "Alright, thanks!"

Dipper nodded and headed off. Mabel neatly folded up her letter and set it on the armchair. She hurried into the kitchen and started pulling open random drawers. Nothing was organized, which drove Ford crazy, and it took a bit to find what was needed.

"Last drawer is always the right drawer," she optimistically, pulling open the final one. Buried underneath some loose papers and envelopes was a sheet of stamps. She pulled it out along with an envelope and slammed the drawer shut. She hurried back to the living room and promptly froze in the doorway.

Ford was standing beside the armchair, eyes pouring over her letter. Gripping the stamps and envelope tightly, she felt suddenly sick to her stomach at the tiny frown that he wore.

 _It took almost half a year to get him to like me as much as Dipper,_ she thought in dismay. _Now he's going to think I'm an idiot and want nothing to do with me._

When Ford came out of the portal, he almost immediately grew attached to Dipper. She could understand that, as they were both extremely intelligent and shared many interests. Before they left to go back to Piedmont, she and Ford had a decent relationship, and it was after constant phone calls and video chatting did they reach the close relationship they were at now.

He noticed her then and lowered the letter. "Oh, Mabel. I was-"

"I believe in Santa Claus," blurted Mabel defensively, feeling her face heat up. "I always have! I write letters to him and put out cookies for him and everything!"

"Mabel-"

"And I know you think it's stupid and probably think I'm stupid-"

" _Sit."_

Startled by his sharp tone, she quickly went and sat down in the armchair. Ford knelt down in front of her and held her gaze. "First of all, I've never thought you were stupid, and I don't now."

"Oh," she muttered, staring at her hands.

Ford lifted her chin with two fingers, forcing her to look at him. "You didn't want me to see this, did you?"

"No…"

"Because you thought I would think less of you?"

"Yes," she admitted softly. "When you first came here, you and Dipper were super close. It took us a bit to reach that level in our relationship. I didn't want that to change and I thought…"

"You thought I'd scoff at you for believing in Saint Nicholas," finished Ford, kicking himself mentally. He abruptly stood and lifted the girl up so he could sit down. He set Mabel in his lap and said, "Mabel, who am I to claim that there's no such thing as Santa Claus? I've seen so many impossible things here in Gravity Falls that I'd be a fool to."

Mabel looked up at him and bit down on her bottom lip. "I thought you didn't hold much stock in magic."

Ford thought his words over carefully. "Perhaps not as much as science, but I suppose that's because science has proven more to me than actual magical beings. But I've discovered unicorns, and that opened my mind to other possibilities. But Mabel, I'm not going to think less of you because of your opinions or your beliefs."

"That's what Dipper said." Mabel suddenly felt very sheepish. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." Ford shifted Mabel around so that they were looking at each other. "I know wasn't very fair over my treatment between you and Dipper. I can admit I let my past with Stan reflect onto you two. That wasn't right." He looked at her closely. "But I've always liked you, Mabel. Always."

Beaming, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thanks, Grunkle Ford."

"You know, it's probably better to mail this sooner than later." Ford stuck the letter into the envelope. "So what do you say?"

"Definitely," cheered Mabel. She peeled a stamp off of the sheet and stuck it onto the back of the envelope. She used her great-uncle's pen to write her address and Santa's address and she stood up. "Ready!"

"Then let's go."

Linking hands, the two walked to the front hall, intent on mailing a letter to good old Kris Kringle.


	12. A Festive Fiasco

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Lights_

* * *

 **A Festive Fiasco**

"You're going to fall."

Stan snorted derisively, glancing briefly down at his brother, who was holding the ladder. "I'm not going to fall."

Ford arched an eyebrow, watching as he climbed carefully onto the peak of the roof, white Christmas lights trailing behind him. "It's slippery up there."

"Thank you, Poindexter. I hadn't noticed with all this _snow_ lying around."

Stan inched along the peak, hooking the lights in place. Ford was tempted to go up and help, but was unsure if the ladder would stay steady without someone holding it. He loosely held a spool of lights around his arm, which he would feed to Stan when he needed more.

"Why couldn't you do this earlier?" he asked, using one hand to flick up the collar of his trench coat.

"What do you mean, earlier?" questioned Stan.

"When the weather was warmer and not as prone to cause accidents," said Ford patiently. "There were a few nice November days we could have done this."

"The kids weren't here in November," dismissed Stan.

Ford smiled slightly. "No, they weren't."

"Plus, I like annoying you with my last-minute plans," added Stan with a smirk. "So there you go."

Ford rolled his eyes. "Of course."

Stan eased himself up along the peak, gripping the shingles for balance. His boot caught on a patch of ice and he lost his balance, smacking his chin. "Ow."

"Geez, Stan, be careful," admonished Ford, a concerned frown curling across his lips. "Do you want me to come up there and do it? I'm sure I have a harness somewhere-"

"I'm fine," cut in Stan, slightly exasperated. "Seriously, it's Christmas lights. Who uses a harness to put up Christmas lights?"

"You should," muttered Ford, keeping watchful eyes on his brother as he started to move again.

"Hey, I was thinking I would take the kids up to the mall sometime this week," spoke Stan as he worked, rhythmically snapping the lights into place. "Do some Christmas shopping. I think they've got a North Pole set up there. I think Mabel would get a kick out of it."

"Sounds good."

"You're not coming."

Ford frowned, affronted. "Why not?"

"I can't get your present if you're coming with us."

"You don't have to get me anything."

Stan peered over the edge of the roof. "This is your first Christmas in too long. You're getting presents. Deal with it."

"Well, what do you want for Christmas, then?"

"Money."

Ford rolled his eyes at the typical answer. "How about something a little more meaningful?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," replied Stan, edging his way down the other side of the peak. "But if you get stuck, seriously, I want moneeeeeey!"

His foot landed on another patch of ice and this time he couldn't catch his balance. Ford let go of the ladder as his brother sailed down the peak and off the roof, landing in the snow below with a pained holler.

"Stanley!" he exclaimed, rushing over to where his brother lay still in a mound of snow. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," groaned Stan, gingerly sitting up and rubbing his aching back. "Ow. You know what, I think I want a visit to the chiropractor for Christmas."

Ford laughed in relief and extended a hand, bringing him to his feet. "I think I can manage that one," he joked.

Stan glanced up towards the roof, where the lights were hanging off of the edge and trailing across the snowy ground. He suddenly had no desire to climb back up to finish the job, especially not with the throbbing pain in his lower back.

"Do you want me to do the rest?"

"Yes," muttered Stan grudgingly.

Ford clapped him on the shoulder before striding for the ladder. As his brother held it, he started to climb up. Before he stepped onto the roof he looked down with a smirk. "I told you you were going to fall."

Stan scowled. "Shut up, Poindexter."


	13. The Christmas Fairy

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Magic_

* * *

 **The Christmas Fairy**

Dipper was lost.

He didn't think that was possible, not after the countless times he traversed through this dense forest. But here he was, standing helplessly in the middle of a clearing, looking through the thick pines and bare branches of other trees in hopes of spotting the familiar trench-coated figure of his great-uncle.

There was nothing but sprawling, glittering white landscape. The sky was black, spotted with silver stars and a graceful crescent moon. He was cold and hungry and rather nervous. He wasn't sure how long he'd been wandering through the trees, shouting for Ford.

"Man, I can't believe I lost him," bemoaned Dipper, sticking his mitten covered hands under his armpits and reluctantly starting off again, hoping that some familiar landmarks would pop up soon.

The day had started out innocently enough. Ford had enlisted him to do some research on a new species of flower that he had discovered one afternoon. They had trekked through the thick snow, deep into the forest, and found a shining red and blue flower blooming right in the middle of the frigid forest. It was no flower Dipper had ever seen before. Ford had plucked it from the ground, stem and all, and watched a golden pollen fall from the center of the flower.

They went searching to see if they could find some more of the strange flowers, but after a few hours they still only had the one. Ford decided they should head home, as it was getting dark. And that was about the time Dipper strayed away from his great-uncle, following a golden glitter that had caught his attention.

So here he was, in a foreign part of the woods, trying to find his way back home.

" _Grunkle Ford!"_ he shouted. _"Where are you?"_

There was only silence.

Sighing softly, Dipper continued on his way. After a bit of walking he suddenly spotted the glittering golden light again, and after a beat of hesitation rushed after it. It flitted amongst the trees, bright against the night sky.

" _Hey! Wait!"_

 _Whomp!_

Dipper's eyes grew wide when the shimmering light suddenly slammed into a tree trunk and fell gently to the snow. "Are you okay?" he called anxiously, and when he reached the fallen light he immediately gaped in surprise.

A tiny, delicate fairy was laying in the snow, staring up dazedly with deep golden eyes. Long red hair was fastened into a bun, and she wore a green long-sleeved dress, hemmed with silver snowflakes and wearing red mittens and a scarf. Surrounding her was an aura of golden light, bright and beautiful.

Snapping out of his awe Dipper hastily bent down, using two fingers to help the fairy up. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to make you crash."

The fairy huffed and glared up at him, flexing her silvery wings. "You should be," she said furiously. "When there's someone trying to get away from you, you should take the hint!"

Dipper flinched. "Right. Sorry, again. I just saw you earlier and I was curious."

"You know what they saw about curiosity," she scolded. "I'm very busy, and I'm not even supposed to be seen by mortals in the first place!"

The thirteen-year-old suddenly had a flashback to when his sister told him all about her encounter with Jack Frost. He couldn't wait to tell her about this. "I've never seen a fairy before," he said softly.

"There's a good reason for that," she muttered.

"I'm Dipper."

She studied him for a moment before heaving a resigned sigh. "I suppose the barrier has been shattered enough, anyway. I'm Noelle. And I'm incredibly behind, thanks to you. I needed that flower."

Eyes wide, Dipper dug it out of his pocket, where Ford had told him to put it for safe keeping. The flower was still shiny, but the pollen seemed to dazzle now they were in close proximity with the fairy. "What did you need it for?"

"That's the Christmas flower," said Noelle, attempting to sound patient rather than annoyed. "It blooms amongst the snow once every year, in certain parts of the world. We Christmas fairies use the powdered magic within the core to help us spread Christmas cheer where it's needed the most. You and that guy took the last flower of the season, and I don't think I'm going to be able to do my job in time for Christmas."

Feeling extremely guilty, Dipper extended the flower. "We didn't know these were so important. Will you still be able to use it?"

Surprised by the quick surrender of the rare, precious flower, Noelle tilted her head to the side. "Seriously? You're giving it up just like that?"

"You need it. It's not ours. We were just going to do research on it, but I've already got enough information based off what you told me."

A curious smile on her lips, Noelle accepted the flower, fingers dipping into the magic in the core of the flower. Her body illuminated a bright gold and Dipper felt a surge of warmth and happiness through his stomach. Noelle smiled in contentment as she felt the magic course through her.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, using her power to shrink the plant and slipping it into the red satchel hanging from her shoulder. "Sorry for being snappy at you. This is a busy season for us. Sometimes gets me stressed out."

"It's okay. I understand. Wait until Grunkle Ford hears about this."

"Grunkle?" she asked in bemusement.

"Yeah. It's short for great-uncle." His face fell and he stared at the snow. "I've been looking for him for the past hour. I lost him when I was chasing after you."

"Ah. Well…I'm sure you'll find him soon."

"Not in this forest," he sighed.

Noelle smiled a secret smile. "Do you wish that he'll find you soon?"

"Very much so."

"It is the Christmas season. If ever a wish will come true, it's during this month." She winked. "Thanks for the help. Who knows? I might see you around. Goodbye, Dipper. And Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" said Dipper, watching as Noelle flew off, glitter trailing behind her. After a moment of standing still, he let out a reluctant sigh and once more started off in search for a familiar path home.

" _Dipper!"_

Hope bubbling in his chest, Dipper whirled around. He spotted Ford on the other side of the trees, his face creased in worry and anxiousness, hands cupped around his mouth as his shouted his nephew's name. _"Dipper!"_

Delighted, Dipper rushed towards him. "Grunkle Ford!"

Snapping his head around, Ford's face filled with intense relief. "Dipper, my boy!" he exclaimed, catching the child as he jumped into his arms. "You need to stop frightening me like that."

"Sorry," said Dipper, sagging happily against the man's shoulder. "I didn't mean to wander off."

"We can talk about that later. Right now, I think you need warmth and a nice meal."

"Uh-huh." Nibbling on his bottom lip, he then admitted, "I'm really sorry, but I don't have the flower anymore."

Though disappointed, Ford made sure it didn't show in his tone. "Don't worry about it, Dipper. I'm just glad you're safe."

"I gave it to the Christmas fairy," the boy continued. "Her name's Noelle."

Ford's eyebrow flew up. "Noelle the Christmas fairy, eh? Any connections to Jack Frost?"

Dipper smacked him lightly on the back. "You don't believe us."

The man chuckled at his accusatory tone. "If you two say you saw what you saw, then I have no reason not to believe you. I'm sure your sister will be very interested to hear your story, as am I."

Comfortable in the embrace of his great-uncle, Dipper smiled in contentment. It was no coincidence that Ford had found him when he did. His wish had come true.

 _Thanks, Noelle._


	14. Santa Experience

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _North Pole_

* * *

 **Santa Experience**

"Alright," spoke Stan as he and the kids entered the main atrium of the mall. "I'm gonna do some Christmas shopping. You runts can do whatever for an hour and we'll meet in the food court."

"Got it," the two said, and Mabel's eyes were already locked on the North Pole set-up directly in front of them.

"I think we'll start here," she said cheerfully.

"I figured as much," said Stan in amusement, tugging down her Santa hat playfully. "Have fun. See you in a bit."

He walked off, leaving the twins to their own devices. Grabbing Dipper's hand eagerly, she tugged him over to the long line of parents and kids waiting to see Santa Claus, who was sitting in a high-backed red throne. Red ropes separated the people from the North Pole display, and the path was marked out by cranberry-red carpet.

Fake snow filled the white fenced-in area, decorated with multicoloured lights, plastic candy canes, artificial pine trees and a full wooden Santa's sleigh with all eight reindeer. Gifts were overflowing from the sleigh, and there were a few teens dressed as elves moving about, using squeaky stuffies to pacify crying toddlers and taking pictures of children sitting in Santa's lap.

"Think we have enough to get our picture taken?" asked Mabel, digging through her pocket and counting up her cash.

Dipper nodded. "We should. It's only ten dollars, isn't it? Even if we have to pay per person, we're good."

He felt only a bit uncomfortable standing in a line filled with preschool-aged children and their frazzled parents. But Mabel's excited grin was enough for him to swallow his awkwardness and stay put, a sincere smile on his own face.

It took a bit to get to Santa's Throne, and they hurried over, each of them taking a knee. "Hi," greeted Mabel happily.

"Twins, eh?" laughed Santa jovially. "Wonderful! So what would you two like for Christmas?"

"Books," replied Dipper simply, idly reaching up to adjust his elf hat. "And some puzzles."

"Glitter," added Mabel. "And stickers! And for everyone to have the best Christmas ever!"

"Well now, that's a wonderful Christmas wish," said Santa, blue eyes twinkling. "I'll see what I can do."

"Smile!" the teen manning the camera called, and the twins immediately looped their arms around each other, dazzling smiles crossing their faces. A flash went off and the two climbed off Santa's lap. "Merry Christmas," the two chorused.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dipper and Mabel."

It was only after the twins collected their picture and paid the fee that they realized that they hadn't told the man their names. Dipper looked over his shoulder, eyes wide. "No way. You don't think…?"

The two rushed back to the North Pole area, and sitting where the fully bearded, bespectacled man once sat was a different Santa, with green eyes and a stomach that was clearly stuffed with something, though would not be noticed by the excited children.

"He was there," breathed Mabel. "Santa Claus…he was here!"

Dipper stared down at the picture, awed. "Whoa."

"Think they'll believe us?" asked Mabel, referring to Stan and Ford.

"They bought Jack Frost and Noelle the Christmas fairy. But Santa Claus? I doubt it."


	15. Childhood Ornaments

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Ornaments_

* * *

 **Childhood Ornaments**

Lounging in his armchair, Stan lazily surveyed the tree that stood proudly in the center of the living room, loaded with decorations and the lights threaded around the branches giving off a soft blue glow. There were a few presents stacked underneath the majestic pine, as there was still a week until Christmas.

"Are you going to stare at that all day?"

Stan didn't look over his shoulder as Ford entered the room, settling in the loveseat and stretching out his legs. "Been a while since I had a proper Christmas tree here," he muttered, taking a sip from his mug of hot chocolate.

Ford glanced at him. "You know we've moved past that, right?"

Lips curling upwards slightly, Stan gave a nod. "I know. But back then, I didn't have a desire to do the whole Christmas thing. I'm glad to be doing all the cheesy festivities again, though."

Ford studied the ornaments on the tree, some of which were new ones picked out by Dipper and Mabel. The majority of them were old, Christmas ornaments from their childhood, kept by Ford and brought to Gravity Falls when he moved. He smiled upon seeing a bookworm decoration hanging on a branch in the front of the tree.

"I remember when you got me that," he said softly. "I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or insulted."

Stan laughed. "It was meant to be a mixture of both. You always complained about not having your own ornament that really represented you. So when I found that when we were, what, fourteen? I had to get it."

"The same year I found that boxing glove ornament for you," recalled Ford. "We always had a habit of doing things like that, didn't we?"

"Yeah," said Stan with a laugh. "I remember when we got each other the exact same action figure one Christmas."

"It worked out." Ford smirked. "At least you didn't have any reason to steal it."

"Borrowed," corrected Stan. "I borrowed without telling you."

"Same thing," muttered Ford under his breath.

"Shut up."

His brother grinned and glanced at the tree, studying the different sparkling ornaments that hung from the branches. His eyes landed on a small, silver picture frame dangling from a red ribbon. In the frame was a picture of two of them as babies, and _First Christmas_ was engraved at the bottom of the frame.

"Geez," he whispered, standing up so he could inspect the old, slightly faded ornament more closely. "I haven't seen this in forever."

"I'm surprised you still kept it all these years," spoke Stan.

"I wasn't going to throw it out. I…I couldn't."

Stan gave a harsh, sudden cough, managing to fight back the emotional surge that went through him. Ford cast him a bemused look before glancing at the ornament hanging beside the silver frame. There were two sparkling white snowman holding hands. One snowman wore a pink scarf and glittery hat, and the other wore a blue beanie. Each snowman depicted a picture; the girl snowman bore Mabel's beaming face, and the boy snowman Dipper's happy smile.

"…Stanley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

He didn't explain what he was thanking him for, but Stan already knew. With a soft smile, he kicked the back of his brother's leg lightly.

"Don't mention it, bro. Merry Christmas."


	16. Family Tradition

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Pinecones_

* * *

 **Family Tradition**

Newspapers covered the kitchen table, protecting the wooden surface from glitter, paint and wayward stickers. In the middle of the craft zone was a basket full of pinecones, bare and ready to be decorated. The four Pines family members sat around the table, and Ford eyed the basket of pinecones.

"So, what is the point of this?" he asked, still not entirely sure what Mabel wanted them to do.

"To have fun," replied Mabel with a smile. "We do this every year!"

"It's our tradition," added Dipper. "When we were really little we had to paint pinecones in class as a Christmas craft project. Mabel liked it so much that she decided we should do one every year. We've got a box of pinecone ornaments. I think there's eighteen of them in total."

"There's way more than one here," said Stan.

"Well, this is our first Christmas with you, so we're going to do all ten of our Christmases at once," piped up Mabel. "I had to get a _lot_ of pinecones."

"Forty pinecones that need to be painted," said Ford, quickly doing the math in his head. "Ten for each of us. I don't know if they'll fit on the- _oof!_ "

Stan elbowed his brother sharply in the side. "Sounds fun, kid. I call the blue paint."

They spent the next while painting their pinecones, paintbrushes swiping over the rough surface. As Stan finished his eighth pinecone, painted red with white stripes, he glanced over at Ford, a mischievous smirk crossing his lips.

"Hey, Poindexter. You got some glitter on your face."

Ford blinked. "But I haven't used any-"

Stan, whose hand was covered in silver sparkles, reached out and smeared a streak of glitter across his brother's forehead. Ford hastily reared backwards and batted Stan's hand away. "What's the matter with you?" he demanded, annoyed.

Dipper clapped a hand over his mouth, but was unable to quell his giggles. Mabel ducked her head and laughed as quietly as possible.

Stan grinned. "What? It looks good on you."

Huffing, Ford used the sleeve of his sweater to try and wipe off the glitter. "Dang it," he grumbled when he felt little come off his skin. He narrowed his eyes at the twins, whose shoulders were shaking with laughter. "Oh, you think it's funny, do you?"

"A little bit," said Dipper with a chuckle.

"You match my pinecone," giggled Mabel, pointing at her silver-and-gold homemade ornament.

"Almost," said Stan with a smirk. He grabbed the gold glitter and Ford stood up hastily and started to back away.

"Don't even think about it," he growled. "I swear-"

"Not listening," shot back Stan, brandishing the tube of gold glitter.

Ford raced off and Stan quickly took up pursuit. Dipper and Mabel burst into renewed laughter as Ford's shouts and Stan's cackles filled the house.

"Guess the pinecones are going to have to wait," said Dipper through his laughter, gesturing towards the final thirteen.

"Sometimes they're just as pretty bare as they are decorated," decided Mabel.

" _Dang it, Stanley! I'm going to kill you!"_

" _Ouch! Stanford, leggo!"_

Mabel smiled contently, leaning back against her chair and playing with her pinecone, which was painted with the faces of the four Pines members.

"Man, do I love them," she said happily.


	17. Christmas Television

**I do not own Gravity Falls or** _ **Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer**_ **.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Quiet evenings_

* * *

 **Christmas Television**

The room was dark, the only light coming from the glow on the television screen. _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ was playing, one of the few Christmas specials that crossed all generations after its original airdate. Stan sat in his armchair with Dipper in his lap, and Ford and Mabel took over the loveseat.

Ford dug through the bowl of popcorn that rested on the arm of the couch. "I can't believe this still airs," he marvelled. "This is ancient."

"Yeah, just like you," quipped Stan.

"We're twins, Stanley," said Ford with a roll of his eyes. "In the process of insulting me as old you insulted yourself."

"Shut up," was all Stan had to say in response.

"So…no one else is bothered by the fact Hermy is the only one with full eyes and actual hair?" piped up Dipper, furrowing his brow as the star elf appeared on the screen.

Mabel groaned, falling against Ford's side and burrowing her face into his sweater. "Here he goes again," she mumbled.

"What? It's true!" protested Dipper. "He's nothing like the other elves!"

His sister peeked out at him, a slightly exasperated look on her face. "Can't we watch Rudolph once without you bringing up your grievances and theories?"

"Theories?" asked Stan with an arched eyebrow. "You have theories over a Christmas special?"

"You're surprised?" muttered Mabel, and then grinned when her brother shot her an irritated expression.

"Tell us, then," spoke Ford, glancing at his nephew curiously just as Rudolph and Hermy finished their musical number.

"I'm almost certain that Hermy is actually a human who was adopted by elves," said Dipper firmly.

Stan burst into laughter and Dipper flushed, glaring moodily at the television. Sensing that he had hurt his nephew's feelings, Stan ran his fingers affectionately through the boy's hair. "Sorry kiddo, but I think you're the only person who could come up with a theory towards a children's Christmas cartoon."

Dipper leaned against Stan's chest, a slight pout on his lips. "I can't be the only one who thinks like this."

"How about some elaboration?" asked Ford, trying to suppress his amused smile at how serious Dipper was.

"Well, like I said, Hermy is the only one with actual hair and eyes. He also doesn't have pointy ears and he has a different nose," explained Dipper. "He doesn't act like the other elves, and he doesn't even want to make _toys,_ which is an elf's life. He probably got lost in some snowstorm when he was really young, or maybe he was just abandoned by his parents, and he made it close to the North Pole and was found by an elf couple. They adopted him and he was raised as an elf. That's why he doesn't have the urge to construct toys or do other elf things. He's human, and that totally explains where the dentist thing comes from."

Mabel snickered. "That's a whole childhood spent theorizing. Now he's waiting for validation."

"That's certainly…interesting," said Ford, lightly rapping his niece on the head, a silent warning to settle down and lay off the teasing. "I don't see why it can't be a possibility."

Appeased by this, Dipper then glanced up and poked Stan in the chin. "Well? Do you have any words for me?"

"Yeah." Stan batted his hand away and gave his sides a teasing squeeze, causing Dipper to jump and giggle in surprise. "You're crazy. But I think you just gave me an idea for a new Christmas display in the gift shop."

"Ssh!" hissed Mabel, eyes locked on the television. "My favourite part is coming up."

They fell into silence as the prospector made his appearance. As the song started, Mabel snuggled closer to Ford, and Stan set his arms around Dipper, all feeling content on this quiet winter evening.


	18. Christmas Braids

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Ribbon_

* * *

 **Christmas Braids**

Sitting patiently on a wooden stool in the bathroom, Mabel played with decorative silver buttons on her cherry red dress as Stan struggled to braid her long, brunette hair. He scowled as the half-done braid came undone, spilling down the girl's back.

"This is ridiculous," he grumbled, smoothing out the thick piece of red ribbon for yet another attempt. "You shouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to do this."

"Do you want me to bring up a video on the computer?" asked Mabel, glancing at her great-uncle through the mirror. "There's lots of simple how-to tutorials that can help."

"I don't need some random person telling me how to make a braid," said Stan huffily, gathering up the girl's hair once more. "I can figure this out myself. I've seen Wendy braid her hair enough times. She always does it when she gets bored."

Mabel sat as still as possible as she felt Stan's fingers course through her hair, separating it into three different strands and starting to thread them together in a meticulous pattern. He let out a hiss of annoyance a minute later when he once more messed up, resulting in him having to do it over again.

"I can just put my hair in a ponytail," she offered, not wanting to cause Stan trouble. "The ribbon will look just as good holding up a ponytail."

"No," said Stan stubbornly, eyes narrowed in concentration as he started over, his thick fingers moving in the silky hair carefully. "You want a braid, you're getting a braid."

It was getting a bit stuffy in the bathroom, especially since he was wearing a suit and tie. Ford and Dipper were waiting in the living room, dressed in similar attire, and would probably pop their heads by soon to see what the holdup was.

They were probably going to be late to church at this rate, but not by much. Stan refused to give up on this braid, the one Mabel requested while extending that red piece of ribbon to him.

Part of the deal of getting the twins for Christmas was taking them to church on Christmas Eve. Though he wasn't particularly religious, he could remember going to church a handful of times during his life. Ford, while a man of science, never had any disputes or disagreements with any religion or their followers. They had no problems agreeing to the terms, and so here they were, on Christmas Eve and trying to get ready to attend midnight mass.

Silence descended upon them as Stan focussed, moving his hands in a rhythmic manner. A triumphant grin crossed his face when he finally managed to form a decent braid and quickly fastened it in place with the red ribbon, tying a neat bow.

"Ha! I knew I could do it!"

Mabel hopped off the stool and beamed at her reflection in the mirror. "Thanks, Grunkle Stan!" she exclaimed, doing a little twirl. "Do I look alright?"

"Cute as a button." Stan tweaked her nose affectionately. "Let's blow this popsicle stand. We don't want to be late."

Linking hands, the two departed, Mabel's braid bouncing lightly against her back with every step she took.


	19. Crashing Through the Snow

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Sleigh_

* * *

 **Crashing Through the Snow**

"Um…Grunkle Stan, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Sure it is!" exclaimed Stan, not needing to think about it. "This is the perfect hill for sledding. Not too many trees and a nice slope."

Dipper fiddled with the zipper of his coat, eyeing Stan uncertainly as they trekked up the incline of the snowy hill. The Mystery Shack was a spot in the distance, seen clearly through the leafless trees. He knew he probably should have said something before they got too far out, but he didn't want to damper Stan's excitement.

Mabel and Ford were doing some Christmas baking, leaving their twins to their own devices. Dipper glanced down the steep hill, feeling a thrill shoot through him as he imagined he and Stan whizzing downhill.

This was probably not the best idea to go sledding with a man who was pushing seventy, but Dipper decided it would work out, so long as they didn't crash into any trees or anything.

"Here we are!" declared Stan, dropping the wooden sled at the top of the hill. He stood behind it and stared downwards, an excited gleam in his eyes. "Ready for this, kiddo?"

"Definitely," said Dipper with a grin. "I call shotgun!"

They arranged themselves on the sleigh, which was just big enough to fit them comfortably. Stan gripped the worn rope in his mitten-covered hands, his legs stretched out on either side of Dipper. The boy held on to the man's ankles, heart pumping with adrenaline. It was a long, steep hill, and this was probably his second time going out sledding ever.

"Hang on, kid. This is going to be a wild ride!"

Stan gave a mighty push with his hand, sending them tipping slowly over the edge. In an instant they were whizzing down the hill, clouds of snow rising up behind them and the bitter wind slapping them in the face. Dipper let out a shout of joy, a wide smile crossing his face as the sled jerked with every bump.

Stan let out a delighted cackle, having not felt this sensation in years. He may have been old, but that never stopped him before. "Ooooohhhhh yeeeeaaaahhhh!"

Dipper spotted something glimmering ahead and he squinted. His eyes flew open and he hollered, _"Grunkle Stan! Ice patch dead ahead!"_

Stan caught sight of it, but couldn't steer away in time. The metal skids hit the sheet of ice and they spun out of control, whirling in frantic circles. Dipper shrieked in panic, his stomach lurching as the world blurred around them.

They slammed into a tree, the force sending the two flying off the sleigh and into the snow. Dipper dazedly got to his feet, searching the landscape for his great-uncle. He spotted Stan lying in a heap a distance away and he raced over to his side.

"Grunkle Stan," he cried anxiously, small hands shaking the man insistently. "Are you okay? Did you break something? Do you need your medication?"

"I'm old, kid, not fragile," grunted, Stan, rolling over and lying on his back, staring up at the blue sky. "Ugh. Everything hurts."

"Do you want me to get Grunkle Ford?"

"No, I'll be fine in a sec. Lemme lie here for a bit."

"You're gonna catch a cold," said Dipper with a frown.

Stan grinned slightly. "Who're you, my doctor?" He looped his arms around the boy and pulled him close, lightly digging his knuckles into his scalp. "It's not that cold out today, runt."

Dipper laughed and cuddled close, a smile on his lips. "I don't think we can go again. The sled broke."

"Dang," muttered Stan with a mild frown. "That was Ford's. Eh. Whatever. He'll get over it."

They fell into silence for a bit. Dipper peeked upwards, watching Stan's forehead crease slightly in pain as his joints ached.

"You sure you don't want me to get your medication?"

"Don't make me tickle you, kid."


	20. A Pine For the Pines

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Tree_

* * *

 **A Pine For the Pines**

Perched atop Stan's shoulders, Mabel peered eagerly ahead, where she could see the tree lot. "We've never had a real tree before! I can't wait!"

"Glad you think so. You can be the one to sweep up the pine needles when the thing starts to die," replied Stan.

"Can we get whatever tree we want?" asked Dipper hopefully.

"Sure. Ford's paying."

Ford cast his brother a withering look. "I'm not exactly raking in as much income as you are. If you want me to pay, then I'll be paying in loose buttons and pocket lint."

Stan huffed. "You need a job. Fine, I'll pay for the dang tree. Try not to make me go broke."

"Yay!" the twins cheered, already envisioning the majestic pine that would sit in the living room.

They reached the tree lot and Dipper was surprised to see that the owner of the dozens of neatly wrapped pines, lined up in rows, was Manly Dan himself. The Corduroy children were helping with the selling of the trees, and Dipper spotted Wendy manning a rusted old register balanced on a box.

"Trees!" exclaimed Mabel in delight.

Stan set her down. "Alright, runts, go searching. When you find one you like let us know."

The twins raced off, making a beeline for Wendy. The redhead was happy to see them and fist-bumped them both. "Hey, dudes!"

"I didn't know you guys sold trees," said Dipper, puzzled. "I thought you spent Christmas doing apocalypse training or something."

Wendy laughed. "We celebrate Christmas, just not on the day it's normally celebrated. My family is weird that way. But yeah, we've been turning our yard into a Christmas tree lot for years, ever since I was little. We are lumberjacks, after all."

"Makes sense," said Dipper with a smile.

"Where are the best trees?" asked Mabel eagerly, bouncing on her toes.

"Last row, at the very end," said Wendy, pointing across the lot. "My dad just chopped them down and bundled them up. They should fit in the Shack just fine."

"Thanks!" said Mabel. She grabbed her brother by the hand and dragged him towards the fresh-looking pine trees.

They were medium-sized, full with dark green pine needles and smelling sweet and Christmassy. Dipper gently ran his fingers over the prickly branches, picturing them covered with sparkling ornaments and lights.

"It's beautiful," breathed Mabel, inhaling deeply. She had always wanted a real Christmas tree, but their parents had always opted for artificial ones. There were Christmas tree lots in California, but they never looked quite right, and sometimes they were too expensive, and if there was a drought, then they were pretty much hard to come by.

Dipper glanced at the price tag and his face fell. "There's no way Stan is going to go for this."

Mabel studied the bright red hundred dollar price tag. She didn't think Stan had ever paid a hundred dollars for anything in his life, and she doubted he'd be willing to shell over so much for a tree. "Well, that's okay," she said optimistically. "I'm sure we can find something cheaper."

"Yeah," said Dipper with a nod, trying not to be too disappointed. "So long as we have a real Christmas tree, that's what matters."

The two spent some more time searching, and eventually found a small tree with a few bald spots that was only forty bucks. Mabel went to get Stan and Ford, and the two stared at the rather lackluster tree in bewilderment.

"This is the one you want?" asked Ford dubiously.

Dipper and Mabel nodded.

Stan crossed his arms. "Alright, where's the one you really want?"

"Er…well…it costs a hundred dollars," said Dipper hesitantly.

"For a tree?!" exclaimed Stan, floored.

"Stanley, that's pretty much the price range for a decent tree," replied Ford, giving his brother a slight, subtle jab to the side. "It's Christmas," he added in a low voice. "It's their first real tree, and our first Christmas together in a long time. Get cheap after the holidays."

"Tch." Stan elbowed his brother back, but surrendered to the wide-eyed, hopeful stares of his niece and nephew. "Show us the tree, runts."

"Really?" squealed Mabel, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"Yes, really. I said to show us the one you like the best, and if that's the one then we're getting it."

Cheering, the twins grabbed their great-uncles by the hands and pulled them over to the perfect tree. Stan had to admit that it was a beauty, and the glow on the faces of the kids caused the sting of the price to dull.

"You two have good eyes for this," praised Ford, admiring the tree.

"It's the first tree we saw," said Mabel brightly. "Wendy pointed us over here when we asked for the best tree."

"Typical," snorted Stan as he and Ford each took an end of the tree. "I yell at her one time and she gets revenge by bleeding me dry."

"I'm pretty sure you've yelled at her more than once," said Dipper in amusement.

"Even more reason for her to overcharge me."

They reached the register, but before Stan could even stick a hand into his pocket to dig out his wallet Wendy waved them on. "Take it," she insisted.

If it had been anyone else telling him that, Stan would have been gone in an instant. But the teen had been working for him since she was thirteen, and this was her family's business, where a lot of hard labour was done in order to get the trees prepared.

"Wendy, this is a hundred dollar tree," returned Stan. "Your father is going to kill you."

She grinned. "Trust me, all my father cares about is if we have a decent amount of money in this thing. We've done a lot of business and he's not even going to notice the hundred dollar difference."

"That's very kind of you," spoke Ford. "Thank you."

"Yeah," said Stan gruffly. "Thanks, kid."

"No problem. Consider it a Christmas present." Her eyes twinkled. "Besides, I've probably taken about a hundred dollars' worth of soda and shirts from the Shack without paying, so now we're even."

"Yeah, I don't think so," said Stan with an arched eyebrow, fighting back a smile. "We'll talk about that the next time you're in."

"Merry Christmas!" Dipper and Mabel called as they started off.

Wendy waved after them. "Merry Christmas, guys!"

As they made their way to the car parked down the path, Dipper furrowed his brow and asked, "Is this gonna fit through the door?"

Ford thought for a moment. "Probably."

"…and if it doesn't?"

"Eh, we'll make it work."

Stan rolled his eyes. "Yeesh. This'll be interesting."


	21. A Magical Sight

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Underneath the tree_

* * *

 **A Magical Sight**

"Dipping-Dots, wake up!"

Dipper cracked open his eyes, staring blearily at his sister, who loomed over him. "What?" he asked with a yawn.

"Come downstairs with me," she whispered excitedly.

"Mabel, it's four in the morning," he moaned, casting a brief glance at the clock sitting on his nightstand table. "Can't this wait?"

"No. C'mon."

With a weary sigh, Dipper reluctantly crawled out from his warm covers, feet touching the frigid floor. He rubbed at his eyes as he followed his sister and Waddles out of the attic and down the stairs. Mabel skipped lightly down the wooden steps, her green Christmas nightgown skimming around her ankles.

They reached the first floor and they entered the living room. All thoughts of sleep left Dipper's mind at the sight before him, and he let out a soft, awed noise.

"I know, right?" whispered Mabel gleefully.

The Christmas tree stood against the wall, a golden star perched proudly on top. The room was illuminated with a soft blue glow from the lights draped around the branches, and the ornaments dangling from the tips shimmered.

Underneath the gorgeous tree were dozens of neatly wrapped Christmas presents, most of which had not been there when the kids had gone to bed. Packages in red and green paper, decorated with snowmen, reindeer, Santa Clauses and gingerbread cookies. Silver and gold bows were fixed to the top of every present. The floor space below the tree and around was covered with presents, some stacked on top of each other and piled against the wall.

"What do you think is in that one?" asked Dipper, pointing to a particularly large box that was wrapped with white, silver snowman Christmas paper.

"I dunno. Let's snoop."

It was something they had done since they were little, poking at their presents and attempting to guess what was inside. They never sought out the presents before they were wrapped, as they wanted to be surprised on Christmas morning.

Creeping across the wooden floor, the twins poked, prodded and carefully shook the presents that bore their names. Mabel discovered she was getting some clothes, but she had no idea what designs or style it might be. Dipper found some book-shaped gifts and he had a few guesses of what the titles might be.

"I wonder what's in here…" muttered Dipper, carefully stepping around the presents to get to the large box. He spotted the Christmas tag, which read, ' _To Dipper and Mabel, From Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford'._

"Maybe a television," whispered Mabel, peering over her brother's shoulder.

Dipper studied the shape of the box. "I don't think a T.V could fit in there."

Mabel tilted her head to the side, expression thoughtful. "Hmm….maybe it's a big box of candy!"

"Possible, and a welcome idea," agreed Dipper.

"What are you two doing?"

Jolting in surprise, the twins whirled around to see Ford standing in the living room entryway, wearing his dark red housecoat. He surveyed them sternly overtop his glasses and said, "You weren't snooping through your presents, were you?"

"A little bit," admitted Dipper with a sheepish expression. "We were just poking them."

"Uh-huh." Mildly amused, Ford jerked his head towards the stairs. "Come, back to bed with you."

Mabel rocked back on her heels, hands folded behind her back. "We're too excited to sleep now."

Ford crossed his arms. "Oh really?"

"Uh-huh. But another tuck-in might help."

"I'm sure," said Ford with a slight shake of his head.

But he opened his arms and the twins happily rushed over, jumping into his embrace and giggling when they were lifted into the air. Ford started towards the stairs, a twin under each arm, and as he started to ascend the steps he asked, "So what did Stanley get me?"

Dipper and Mabel exchanged secretive glances.

"Well," replied Dipper with a smile, "you're just going to have to wait until Christmas to find out."


	22. Winter Vacation

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _Vacation_

* * *

 **Winter Vacation**

The bus rolled across the salt-strewn road, jerking back and forth with each pothole and bump the wheels hit. At the back of the bus Dipper and Mabel peered eagerly out the frosted windows, watching the blurry scenery speed by.

"We're almost there," breathed Mabel excitedly, settling back against her seat.

It had taken quite a bit convincing to get their parents to agree to send them to Gravity Falls for Christmas. They didn't understand why their children wanted so badly to go back to the small town in Oregon, when they had just visited for Thanksgiving. But they also could not deny that there was something Gravity Falls that made the twins happier, more cheerful. So they agreed, and the twins were packed on a bus, for the long journey to their favourite place on Earth to see their favourite people.

"What do you think they'll want for Christmas?" asked Dipper.

"I'm not sure, but we'll figure it out," said Mabel confidently. "We'll just have to drop hints."

" _Gravity Falls!"_ the bus driver hollered. " _We've arrived at Gravity Falls!"_

"Yes!" the twins whooped, high-fiving each other.

The vehicle came to a stop and they grabbed their luggage, wrestling down the aisle and down the steps. The bus chugged off, leaving behind a cloud of exhaust that caused them to cough and hack. When the dark smog disappeared, they could see Stan and Ford waiting for them on the bus station platform.

Abandoning their luggage, the two raced over and flung themselves at their relatives, creating a group hug.

"Kids!" laughed Stan, holding them close.

"Long time no see," said Ford, running his fingers gently through Mabel's hair.

"We missed you," murmured Mabel.

"A lot," added Dipper.

"We missed you runts too. I can't believe you left me alone with this loser."

Ford rolled his eyes and shot his brother a mock glare. "Funny. I could say the same thing about you."

"Well, too bad. I said it first."

Giggling at the familiar bickering, the two went to get their luggage. With the help of their great-uncles they loaded the bags into the trunk of Stan's car. They had idle chatter on the way to the Mystery Shack, for any new discoveries by Ford and business ventures by Stan were always dictated in lengthy emails and phone calls.

Mabel's spirits fell ever so slightly when they reached the Shack and she noticed there were no Christmas lights up. But the feeling quickly left, for as much as she appreciated the glimmering Christmas lights, she did not need them. So long as she was with her brother, Stan and Ford, it would be the best Christmas ever.

Gathering their bags, the twins followed their great-uncles inside. Mabel immediately was tackled in a hug by her pet pig, which she gleefully returned tightly. "Waddles! I missed you!"

Ford grinned at the display and glanced at his brother. "You know she only comes here for the pig, right?"

"Upstaged by a farm animal," grumbled Stan, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up.

As she snuggled her pig, Mabel happened to glance into the living room. Where she expected to see a Christmas tree was just an empty space, and she could not stop her face from falling in disappointment.

Ford immediately noticed. "What's wrong?" he asked, offering a hand to help her up from the floor.

Mabel accepted and got to her socked feet, Waddles clasped under one arm. "It's nothing, really. It's just…" She bit down on her lip, not wanting to sound like she was whining or complaining.

"There's no tree," finished Dipper on behalf of his sister.

"Of course there's no tree," said Ford in bemusement. "We very well weren't going to pick it out without you."

Feeling rather sheepish, Mabel flushed. "Right. I should have known." Her eyes then brightened. "Can we go soon?"

"You just got here," said Stan with an arched eyebrow. "But yes, we'll get it soon." He reached out and lightly ruffled her hair. "As the lights will go up soon."

"Yaaaaaaay!" whooped Mabel, doing a delighted spin with Waddles.

"After we unpack, can we go get something to eat?" asked Dipper hopefully.

Stan sniffed. "Been here five minutes and you're already trying to make me go broke."

"So that means yes," clarified Ford, smiling when his brother gave him a playful jab to the side.

"Alright, hurry up and get your stuff put away," ordered Stan. "We'll get something to eat and you can rest up. Tomorrow you can start helping me out in the gift shop."

While Mabel cheered, Dipper wrinkled his nose. "But it's the Christmas holidays. We don't work over Christmas."

"Welcome to reality," shot back Stan, yanking the boy's cap down over his eyes. "Now get moving."

The twins quickly hurried for the stairs, dragging their suitcases behind them. They were back at the Shack, back at the grind, back with the people they loved most.

It was going to be the best winter vacation ever.


	23. It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:**_ _White Christmas_

* * *

 **It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas**

"Psst! Dipper! Wake up!"

Groaning softly, Dipper blearily opened his eyes and squinted at his sister. "What?" he asked groggily.

"It's snowing!" Mabel said excitedly, pointing towards the window. "It's our first Christmas snowfall!"

"Of course it's snowing," said Dipper with a yawn. He rolled over and snuggled into his warm blankets. "It's Oregon."

"Come on," whined Mabel, shaking her brother insistently. "This is our first proper winter. We can't miss our very first snowfall!"

With a soft sigh, Dipper reluctantly sat up. "Alright, alright." He stretched and stepped to the floor, flinching at the cold that sent prickles through his feet. "But only for a bit."

Grinning, Mabel grabbed her brother's hand and dragged him out of the attic and downstairs. They shrugged on their coats and boots and eased open the front door, trying to be as quiet as possible.

When Dipper stepped out onto the front porch and saw the fluffy, fat white snowflakes swaying gently down from the grey sky, he was glad that Mabel had disturbed him from his slumber. California very rarely got snow, as it was the Sunny State. They'd never had a White Christmas, and he was starting to see what they had missed out on.

"It's beautiful," breathed Mabel, transfixed by the snow.

"It is," agreed Dipper. He stepped off the porch and attempted to make a footprint in the snow. He underestimated just how deep it was and he fell forwards with a startled yelp. Snow got into the front of his jacket and tumbled down his pajama top. He jumped to his feet and shook himself wildly in an attempt to get the chunks of snow free. _"Cold! It's cold!"_

Mabel burst into laughter at her brother's discomfort. Scowling, Dipper narrowed his eyes at her and knelt down, gathering some snow into his bare hands and creating a snowball. Ignoring the chill that shot through his skin.

"You think it's funny, huh? Well, let's see if you laugh at this!"

His snowball struck his sister dead in the face. She spluttered in surprise, her cheeks immediately reddening with cold. "Oh, it's so on!" she cried.

Soon snowballs were flying everywhere, the white spheres soaring through the air. Mabel ducked one of Dipper's projectiles and launched her snowball, cackling when it nailed her brother in the shoulder.

"Got you- _oof!_ "

Dipper pumped his fist in victory when his snowball struck her in the stomach. "Ha! You were saying?"

"What in the heck are you two doing?"

The twins halted their battle and turned around, staring with wide eyes at Stan, who stood on the porch in his slippers and red housecoat. His hands were on his hips and he wore an annoyed expression.

"Oh, um…it's snowing," said Dipper sheepishly.

"I can see that." Stan arched an eyebrow. "It's also two in the morning, and you're soaking wet."

Now that the adrenaline of their snowball fight had died down, they realized for the first time that the hem of their pajama pants and jackets sagged with moisture, and their faces and hands were numb with cold.

At their shivering bodies, Stan shook his head and pointed at the door. "Inside. Now."

The twins obeyed, hurrying inside and taking off their jackets and boots. Stan closed the door behind them and ushered the twins into the kitchen. He turned on the kettle and turned to his niece and nephew as it started to hiss.

"Why were you outside at two in the morning, freezing your butts off?"

"It's our very first winter snowfall," answered Mabel, rocking back on her heels. "We wanted to experience it."

"The snow is still going to be here in a few hours, squirt."

"Yeah, but if it snowed again, it would have been our _second_ snowfall. It wouldn't have been the same."

"We didn't mean to stay out so long," said Dipper sheepishly. "We just got carried away."

"Try to control yourselves next time and wait until it's a decent hour," said Stan dryly. "I don't want to wake up to two frozen runtsicles."

"We will," promised Dipper, and Mabel crossed her fingers over her heart.

"Go change," instructed Stan. "I'll be up with hot chocolate when it's finished. Maybe it'll help get feeling back into your toes."

"With marshmallows?" asked Mabel hopefully.

Stan lightly pinched her nose. "We'll see. Room, now."

The two scampered off, desiring warm clothes and their cozy blankets. But they doubted they would be able to get to sleep with all the excitement flooding through their veins.

They were going to experience their first White Christmas, and they couldn't wait.


	24. Christmas Day

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:** Xmas_

* * *

 **Christmas Day**

The early morning rays filtering through the attic's window, Mabel stirred from slumber with a yawn. She sat up and stretched, blinking rapidly to clear her vision. It only took a second for her to remember what day it was, and excitement chased away the lingering sleepiness.

 _"_ _Dipper! It's Christmas!"_

As if someone had upended a bucket of cold water over his head, Dipper sat straight up, eyes wide and alert. "Presents!" he cheered.

Mabel grabbed Waddles and the two sped downstairs, bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor. When they reached the first floor landing, they split off down the hallway, intent on waking up their great-uncles.

 _"_ _Grunkle Stan!"_ shrieked Mabel, jumping up and landing on the edge of the bed.

Stan jolted awake with a startled cry, and once he recovered from the rude awakening he shot his niece a glare. "It better be a decent hour, kid."

"It's seven," said Mabel. "Time for Christmas."

"Christmas will still be here in a few hours." Stan rolled over, tugging his blankets closer. "Go back to sleep."

Shaking her head, Mabel set Waddles down. Her pig walked across the mattress and nuzzled the back of Stan's neck, oinking softly. Groaning, Stan reluctantly sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Alright, alright. Get in the living room. I'll be there in a bit."

Cheering, Mabel scooped Waddles up in her arms and rushed into the room, Dipper joining her seconds later. The two marvelled at the glittering tree and the piles of presents stacked underneath. They dropped to the floor and crawled closer, eager to start tearing into the packages.

"Okay," said Ford with a yawn as he and Stan entered, each dressed in housecoats and slippers. "Go ahead."

"Try not to break anything in the process," Stan quipped, easing himself down into his armchair.

With delighted whoops the twins practically dove at the presents. Wrapping paper flew everywhere, pieces of festive paper falling to the floor. Dipper soon had a pile of books stacked next to him, the covers glossy and shiny. Mabel hugged every new stuff animal she unwrapped, and was especially delighted with a plush pig that had an incredible likeness to Waddles.

"I'm not cleaning this up," muttered Stan, lazily kicking away a scrap of snowmen paper.

"We'll deal with it later," said Ford, leaning down and freeing Waddles from the ribbon he had gotten tangled in. "As in, probably tomorrow."

"Candy!" cheered Mabel, holding up a large plastic gumball machine.

"I'm going to regret that one," said Stan in amusement.

"Cool!" exclaimed Dipper as he inspected his new chemistry set. "I can finally get to some of my experiments!"

"When you're back with your parents, follow the instructions," cautioned Ford. "When you're with me, you can get creative."

"Sweet."

The twins soon had one more present left to open-the large box that rested against the wall. Curious, the two approached and took off the paper together, as the present was addressed to the both of them.

"Holy sparkles!" shrieked Mabel, eyes growing wide with delight at what they uncovered.

"A computer!" exclaimed Dipper eagerly, tracing the design of the desktop printed on the face of the box with his fingers. "Our own computer!"

"Which your parents will probably kill us for, but hey, it's Christmas," said Ford with a slight smile.

"Least now you won't be hogging your father's computer every time you want to use it to talk to us," replied Stan.

"How are we going to get this home on the bus?" asked Dipper.

"Hey, we did our part. It's your problem now."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" squealed Mabel. She raced forwards and tackled Stan the same time Dipper launched himself at Ford.

Stan laughed and ruffled her hair fondly. "Don't mention it, kid. I'm sure you'll get your use out of it."

"Remember, you're sharing it," added Ford, lightly running his fingers through Dipper's hair. "So neither of you can hog it."

"We're really good at sharing," assured Mabel.

"Do you want to open your presents now?" asked Dipper.

"Of course I do. Gimme," instructed Stan.

Giggling, the twins went to collect the small pile of presents still remaining. Mabel brought Ford his gifts and Dipper gave Stan his.

Stan, in the same manner as the kids, tore off the wrapping paper. He held up the gift from his brother, which was a glass bottle with a model of the Stan o' War inside. Ford glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

"It's not money, but I thought you might appreciate it all the same."

"Shut up," said Stan, gruff with emotion. He punched Ford affectionately in the shoulder. "It's perfect."

Smiling, Ford unwrapped Stan's gift to him. His eyes widened at the leather-bound journal, which had golden charms hanging from the spine of the book. A U.F.O, question mark, unicorn and six-fingered hand glinted at him. On the cover of the journal was his familiar handprint, but it was joined by two green pine trees, a rainbow shooting star and a dark red fez.

"I've been finding your notes lying all over the place," spoke Stan. "Figured you should have something to write them in."

"Thanks, Stanley." Smiling warmly, Ford wrapped his arms around his brother in an appreciative hug.

"Yeah, yeah." Stan playfully batted him away. "You're welcome."

"Our turn, our turn!" sang Mabel, lifting up her square-shaped present and handing it to Stan.

"If it's something from the gift shop, the two of you are getting coal for the rest of your lives." Stan peeled back the paper and stared at the scrapbook he uncovered. The cover was an explosion of glitter, and it read _Grunkle Stan's Scrapbook_. He flipped through the pages, which were plastered with pictures of the four of them.

"Do you like it?" asked Mabel hopefully.

"'Course I do. Though you could have cut back on the glitter."

She laughed. "Don't be silly! You can never have enough glitter."

Ford unwrapped his present next and took off the lid of the box he uncovered. A golden picture frame laid on top, with a picture of the twins inside.

"Grunkle Stan has one in his office, and we thought you might like one in yours," ventured Dipper shyly.

Touched beyond words, Ford nodded. "Thank you, kids. I know exactly where to put it."

"There's one more present," sang Mabel, bouncing on her toes excitedly.

Curious, Ford moved aside some green tissue paper, revealing a small, dark brown drawstring sack. He opened it up and gasped at the glowing rock he discovered inside. "What on Earth?"

Stan peered over his brother's shoulder. "Where the heck did you kids find that?"

Dipper smiled sheepishly. "Well, remember when you found us near those cliffs and we wouldn't really tell you why we were there?"

"You're telling me you nearly killed yourself to get this for me?" asked Ford incredulously.

"Well, we didn't intend to have a near-death experience when we went to look for it," piped up Mabel.

"You two are about as crazy as we are," claimed Stan. "And that's not exactly comforting to know."

"I don't know whether I should scold you for being reckless or thank you for finding one of my earliest discoveries."

"A hug is a nice middle-ground," said Mabel innocently, extending her arms hopefully.

Laughing, Ford lifted her up into his lap with one arm and tussled Dipper's hair with the other. "Thanks, kids. I'm very grateful. Though please don't go to so much trouble next time."

"We'll try," replied Dipper, and he laughed when Stan jabbed him playfully in the side. "Alright, alright, we won't."

"I doubt that," snorted Stan. He stood up from the chair and said, "Who wants Christmas waffles?"

"I do, I do!" the twins shouted and raced for the kitchen.

"Ease up on the sprinkles!" called Stan. He then sighed. "They're not gonna lay off on the sprinkles."

"It's Christmas. I think we can let them go sugar-crazy," said Ford, lightly shoving his brother's shoulder.

"Fine. Then you can deal with their wild energy later today." Stan threw an arm around Ford's shoulders. "Oh, and you're helping me figure out Christmas dinner, Poindexter."

"You couldn't tell me this beforehand?"

"Nope. I like surprising you."


	25. Christmas Feast

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:** Yummy_

* * *

 **Christmas Feast**

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to assign Mabel the job of making mashed potatoes. They also shouldn't have waited so long to stick the turkey into the oven, and should have probably set up a timer or two to let them know when the stovetop food was finished.

Stan and Ford stood in the kitchen, their niece and nephew sitting at the table, looking at the attempted Christmas feast with expressions mixed with amusement and mild disgust. Stan set his hands on his hips, nose wrinkled.

"Well. This was a complete disaster."

"Not entirely," said Dipper. "The house is still standing."

"Small miracles," muttered Ford, wiping his gravy-stained hands on a dishcloth. He eyed the half-frozen turkey sitting on the kitchen counter, looking rather pitiful. "Who knew a turkey had to cook for so long?"

"Should have prepared this stuff beforehand," said Stan with a sigh, scratching his chin idly. "I didn't realize cooking Christmas dinner was so hard."

"The mashed potatoes turned out all right," said Mabel optimistically.

Dipper stared at the pot of multicoloured potatoes and snorted slightly. "Says you."

"The food colouring and sprinkles add some pizazz to it!" insisted Mabel.

"You and your sprinkles," muttered Dipper under his breath. In a louder tone, he asked, "Now what do we do?"

Ford looked around the kitchen, which was a complete mess. It wouldn't have normally mattered, but this time there was nothing to show for it. Not even the gravy tasted right-it was too salty. "I suppose we'll have to improvise," he said, glancing at his watch. It was six o'clock Christmas evening. "I'm not sure what we have left after this two-hour cooking fest…"

"Well, can't we order a pizza?" asked Mabel.

"I don't think any pizza places are open, kiddo," replied Stan.

"What about Chinese food?" piped up Dipper. "Chinese places are normally open during the holidays, right?"

"There's a Chinese place about ten minutes from here," said Stan, brow furrowing. "But is that okay? It's not exactly a traditional Christmas feast."

"Well, it'll be our tradition," said Mabel cheerfully. "We've had lots of turkey dinners on Christmas, but never Chinese. It'll be fun!"

"Yeah," agreed Dipper.

"Chinese sounds good to me," spoke Ford. "What do you think, Stanley?"

"Chinese it is," declared Stan. "Grab your coats. We're gonna load up our pockets wit fortune cookies."

Cheering, the twins dashed past their great-uncles and into the hall. Stan removed his glasses and used the hem of his shirt to clean the food blobs from his glasses. "Well, it didn't exactly turn out how we expected."

"I think it turned out even better," said Ford thoughtfully. "We're not exactly normal enough for regular Christmas traditions, anyway."

"Says you," snorted Stan. "I'm the sane one amongst you weirdos."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Mystery."

"Shut up and let's go get our Chinese Christmas dinner."


	26. All's Quiet This Christmas Night

**I do not own Gravity Falls.**

 **It's finally here, guys! Thank you for joining me on this festive journey, I had so much fun writing these one-shots. I hope your holidays are bright and joyful, and that the New Year treats you well.**

 **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**

* * *

 _ **Prompt:** Zzzzz_

* * *

 **All's Quiet This Christmas Night**

The heater hummed soothingly, and the Shack was filled with a gentle warmth, cozy and comforting. In the living room a pine tree was illuminated with a soft blue glow, the ornaments glinting in the light. The television was playing the last Christmas movie of the season, the sound muted and brightness dimmed.

Presents were scattered all over the wooden floor, some half-opened and others still in their boxes. In the middle of the festive chaos was the Pines family, sound asleep and snuggled together. Dipper lay curled up in a ball, his hands resting underneath his head. Mabel slept beside him, her arms splayed over her brother's side and legs stretched out across Stan's stomach.

The two great-uncles were arranged on either side of the twins, with Ford beside Dipper and Stan beside Mabel. Ford's head rested on Stan's shoulder, one of his arms draped across Dipper. Stan's left arm was curled loosely around his brother, and his right hand laid lightly in Mabel's hair. They all slept soundly.

 _Poof!_

Appearing in a flurry of red and green sparkles, Noelle fluttered in the middle of the living room. Her golden eyes immediately focussed on the slumbering family and she could not help but smile at the adorable sight.

"Old Saint Nick knows when you're sleeping, all right," she said in amusement. Reaching into her satchel, she removed a fresh Christmas flower, the same kind Dipper and Ford had searched for only a few days ago. "You got lucky, kid," she said softly, carefully placing the magical flower next to the boy's hat, which lay carelessly on the couch. "Turns out there was one more flower we missed this season."

And since Dipper had showed interest in it, she had managed to convince her boss to let him have it. She figured he would appreciate it most of all. The flower would wither after a few weeks anyway, for Christmas was over and there would be no more until the middle of next November.

"Merry Christmas, Pines family," Noelle wished warmly, giving her fingers a snap and starting to vanish. "Until next year!"

She disappeared, a few seconds before Mabel and Dipper opened their eyes blearily, roused by the Christmas fairy's voice. But they did not see anything, and with twin yawns they rolled over and snuggled into the sides of their great-uncles, quickly falling back asleep with contented smiles and a happy thought.

It was the best Christmas ever.

And they couldn't wait until the next one.


End file.
